BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday condemned the “appalling assassination attempt” on Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and called on Moscow to answer questions about the poisoning to international investigators.
Navalny, a Kremlin critic and corruption investigator, fell ill on a flight to Moscow on Aug. 20 and was taken to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk. He has been in an induced coma in a Berlin hospital since he was flown to Germany for treatment more than a week ago.
German authorities have said that tests showed that he had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group. British authorities previously identified the Soviet-era Novichok as the poison used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018.
“There is proof beyond doubt that Mr. Navalny was poisoned using a military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group. The use of such a weapon is horrific,” Stoltenberg said after chairing a meeting of NATO ambassadors during which Germany briefed its allies on developments.
“Any use of chemical weapons shows a total disrespect for human lives and is an unacceptable breach of international norms and rules. NATO allies agree that Russia now has serious questions it must answer,” he told reporters.
Stoltenberg said Moscow must cooperate with the international chemical weapons organization in “an impartial, international investigation” and provide information about its Novichok program.
Russian authorities have appeared reluctant to investigate what caused Navalny’s condition, saying there had so far been no grounds for a criminal investigation. Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said Friday that a preliminary inquiry was ongoing, but added that he saw no signs of a crime in what happened to the most determined critic of Putin.
Asked about the case Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters that “I don’t know exactly what happened,” adding that “we haven’t had any proof yet.” But later he said he would not be happy if Russia did poison Navalny, “and that seems to be the case.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Thursday that Navalny was the victim of a “reprehensible” poisoning.
