The West has launched a disinformation campaign around the situation with Alexey Navalny, and the rhetoric about Russia's involvement is unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
"We consider this kind of rhetoric unacceptable, there is no evidence of any Russian involvement, as they say, a Russian trace, in what happened, and there can't be," Zakharova said at a briefing, responding to statements by US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo threatening to impose sanctions on Russia because of the alleged use of chemical weapons against Navalny.
"We regret to say that this is not the first time that American diplomacy builds its own position based on outright speculation," she added.
"Once again, the United States and its European allies for purely political reasons deliberately go to the aggravation of relations with Russia, preferring constructive partnership course to aggravate the systemic confrontation," - said Zakharova.
Navalny was hospitalized in Omsk on August 20 after he became ill on the plane. According to the results of tests, Omsk doctors called the main diagnosis a metabolic disorder that caused a sharp change in blood sugar. What caused it is not yet clear, but no poisons were found in Navalny's blood and urine, according to Omsk doctors.
He was later taken to Germany. After that, the German government said, with reference to military doctors, that Navalny was allegedly poisoned with a substance from the Novichok group of chemical warfare agents. Later, the German Cabinet of Ministers said that the conclusions of German experts were confirmed by laboratories in Sweden and France, while the OPCW is conducting its own research at the request of Berlin. In this regard, the Kremlin said that Berlin did not inform Moscow of its conclusions, and the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia was waiting for a response from Germany to an official request on this situation.
On the day of Navalny's hospitalization, the Prosecutor's office and the police began to conduct their checks. The Russian Embassy in Berlin said that they expected the German side to respond as quickly as possible to the request of the Prosecutor General's office of the Russian Federation on August 27 to provide legal assistance in the Navalny case. The IC of the RF earlier sent for verification to the West Siberian Department a statement from Navalny's supporters that the opposition leader was allegedly attacked. Press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that de facto investigative actions on the situation with Navalny were underway, if the presence of a toxic substance was confirmed, the investigation would be opened and de jure.
Berlin's Charite clinic reported that Navalny was discharged from hospital on Tuesday, his condition is satisfactory, and his doctors do not rule out a full recovery.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: MFA