UK summons Russian ambassador regarding Alexei Navalny poisoning

United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on August 7 stated that Britain has summoned the Russian ambassador regarding the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny. Navalny is currently in Germany being treated for poisoning after he was flown from Russia.

UK calls for full and transparent investigation

In a series of Tweets, Raab revealed that the UK was deeply concerned about the poisoning of Navalny and that the use of banned chemicals to poison his was unacceptable. The tweet added that Russia must conduct a full and transparent investigation into the incident. As per reports, the Russian opposition leader who was in a medically induced coma since his poisoning was taken out of the coma after his health improved.

Russia has stated that it expects Germany to share all its findings from the medical tests and Kremlin has denied any involvement with the poisoning and has said that the accusations made against it are groundless. German health authorities last month declared that there was “unequivocal proof of the presence of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group” in Navalny’s blood as shown by the toxicology report.

Read: Raab: Russia Very Likely Behind Navalny Poisoning

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The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that any poisoning of an individual through the use of a nerve agent is considered a use of chemical weapons. OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said in a statement that such an allegation is a matter of serious concern and the States that signatories to the Chemical Weapons Convention deem the use of chemical weapons as reprehensible.

The poisoning of the Russian opposition leader comes just as Germany is facing pressure to reconsider Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, one of the two Russian projects in Europe to supply gas to Germany. When asked about the fate of the pipeline in case sanctions were imposed against Russia, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that nothing could be ruled out.

(Input CreditANI) (Image Credit AP)

Read: Kremlin Denounces Attempts To Blame Russia For Navalny’s Poisoning As ‘absurd’

Read: Germany Denies Ruling Out Impact On Nord Stream Project Over Navalny’s Poisoning