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Poisoning Navalny ‘would not benefit’ Moscow, says Russian Foreign Ministry
Moscow does not stand to benefit from the alleged poisoning of opposition activist Alexey Navalny, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said, noting the haste with which Western media and governments made the insinuation.
The ministry issued a statement on Tuesday evening, following the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, in which the subject of Navalny came up, among other things.
Lavrov pointed out the “suspicious haste” with which the narrative about Navalny’s alleged poisoning was picked up in Washington and Brussels and instantly compared to the “poisonings” of Alexander Litvinenko and the Skripals – which were blamed on Moscow before any investigations happened.
The question inevitably arises – who benefits from it? The Russian leadership clearly does not.
Navalny became ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow last week, and was taken to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk, where his condition was stabilized. He was airlifted to Germany over the weekend for further treatment.
German doctors said Navalny was poisoned by a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors, but were unable to say which. However, the Omsk hospital unit chief Dr. Alexander Sabayev told reporters on Monday that Navalny tested negative for any drugs, including cholinesterase inhibitors.
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“We consider deeply offensive the accusations of ‘covering up the truth’, directed from some Western capitals to the doctors in Omsk, who immediately rendered highly professional aid” to Navalny, the ministry said.
The European Union has already called for a “comprehensive investigation” of Navalny’s alleged poisoning. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seconded that on Tuesday, saying that “Navalny’s family and the Russian people deserve to see a full and transparent investigation carried out, and for those involved to be held accountable.”
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters the German doctors were “rushing” to use the term poisoning, and that an investigation was premature.
“There must be a reason for an investigation. At the moment, all you and I see is that the patient is in a coma,” Peskov told reporters. He added that any suggestions Putin was involved in Navalny’s condition were “hot air” and the Kremlin would not take them seriously.
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