Alexei Navalny’s associates suspect he drank a cup of fortified tea at the airport
Berlin:
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who Germany claims was poisoned with a military-grade Novichok nerve agent, has now recovered from a medically induced coma and is responding to speech, the hospital said on Monday from Berlin the caregiver.
The 44-year-old anti-corruption activist and one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, fell ill on a domestic flight last month and was treated at a Siberian hospital before being evacuated to Berlin.
“He is responding to verbal stimuli,” Charite Hospital said in a statement, reporting that his condition “has improved”.
Navalny is also weaned from mechanical ventilation, but the hospital said it was too early to determine the long-term impact of the poisoning.
Germany said last week that toxicology tests conducted by its military had found “unequivocal evidence” that Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok, the substance used in the 2018 attack on a former Russian double agent and his daughter in the English town of Salisbury.
Navalny associates say the use of Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, shows that only the Russian state could be responsible, but the Kremlin fiercely denies any involvement.
“Attempts to somehow associate Russia with what has happened are unacceptable to us, they are absurd,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Russian officials have accused Germany of delaying sharing the findings of its investigation, despite a request from prosecutors.
“We expect information (from Germany) to be provided in the coming days,” Peskov said. “We’re waiting impatiently.”
But Germany has warned that Moscow’s failure to fully investigate the incident could have serious consequences.
Crosshair pipeline
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday that Berlin, which holds the rotating EU presidency, will discuss possible sanctions against Russia if the Kremlin does not soon provide an explanation of what happened to Navalny.
Otherwise, Germany will be forced to “discuss a response with our allies,” including “targeted” sanctions, Maas said.
He did not rule out action regarding Nord Stream 2, a multibillion-euro Russian-German gas pipeline nearing completion.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman said on Monday she agreed with Maas, who is a member of the coalition’s small partner, the Social Democrats.
Nor does it rule out consequences for Nord Stream 2 – a 10 billion euro ($ 11 billion) pipeline under the Baltic Sea that is expected to double shipments of Russian natural gas to Germany, the largest economy. from Europe.
It has long been in the crosshairs of the United States, which has criticized European countries for their dependence on energy from Russia.
US President Donald Trump has signed legislation that targets contractors working on the project, meaning German companies face sanctions even for small investments.
“Of course,” Trump said at a White House press conference on Monday if he thought Germany should cancel the project.
But he didn’t know if Germany was able to do it now, he said, “because Germany is in a very weak position on the energy front.”
Western leaders have expressed horror at what Navalny’s allies say is the first known use of chemical weapons against a prominent opposition leader on Russian soil.
“Completely unacceptable”
Britain said on Monday it had summoned the Russian ambassador to express “deep concern” over the poisoning.
“It is totally unacceptable that a banned chemical weapon has been used and Russia must conduct a full and transparent investigation,” British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab wrote on Twitter.
The condemnation echoes other Western voices, and Merkel also said that “only Russia can and must” provide answers to the incident.
The poisoning of Navalny is the latest in a long line of assassination attempts against Kremlin critics.
Already suffering from large-scale Western sanctions imposed upon its annexation of Crimea in 2014, as well as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and falling oil prices, Moscow is keen to avoid any further pressure on its economy.
Navalny associates said they suspected he drank a cup of fortified tea at the airport.
The charismatic Yale-trained lawyer was first treated at a Russian hospital, where doctors said they could not find any toxic substances in his blood, before being flown to Berlin for treatment specialized on August 22.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
