Alexey Navalny
The Permanent Mission of Russia to the European Union has presented a list of inconsistencies in the case of the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) Alexei Navalny. The diplomats' commentary is available on the website.
For example, the permanent mission asked whether “there is some justification for the alleged decision of the Russian authorities to” poison “Navalny with a military-grade substance in a Russian city with a population of half a million and then do everything possible to save his life and release him for treatment in Germany, where” Novichok “can identify”.
In addition, the representatives of Russia said they did not understand why the German government does not want to transfer the results of toxicological studies to Moscow or make them public if Berlin is convinced of Navalny's poisoning. Allegations about the need for patient consent are incompatible with the numerous statements made in Germany while he was in a coma, diplomats noted.
The Russian side was outraged by the fact that Berlin is ignoring the fact of developing chemicals associated with the Novichok group, Western specialists and NATO experts. In addition, Moscow recalled that Navalny was accompanied by police and intelligence agents on his way to the Charité hospital, and emergency security measures were taken at the hospital until the substance was found in the patient's body. “Does this mean that Berlin knew something that neither Moscow nor Omsk knew about?” – noted in the permanent mission.
Earlier, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, called the situation with the Navalny assassination attempt. He noted that what happened could have consequences for relations between Russia and the European Union.
Navalny became ill on August 20 during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. In the first two days, doctors from the Omsk hospital helped him. They also introduced him to an artificial coma. On August 22, the patient was sent to a clinic in Berlin.
On September 2, the German government announced that military toxicologists had found traces of a substance from the Novichok group in Navalny's body, and called on the Russian government to respond to this information. Russian doctors say that no poisons were found in the patient's analyzes. On September 10, it became known that Navalny had completely recovered. On September 14, he was disconnected from the artificial lung ventilation (ALV) apparatus, and the oppositionist was able to get out of the hospital bed.