Germany says Navalny was poisoned with Novichok class nerve agent

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Germany claims the Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has been poisoned with a Novichok class nerve agent.

German Cabinet’s Spokesperson Steffen Seibert said that at the initiative of the Charite hospital the Bundeswehr’s special laboratory had carried out toxicological analysis of Alexei Navalny’s test samples, TASS reports.

The analysis provided “indisputable proof” of the presence of a Novichok class nerve agent, he said.

Seibert added that Chancellor Angela Merkel held a meeting with some ministers and agreed a number of steps in the light of the latest data. According to the spokesman, the German Foreign Ministry is to officially inform Russia’s ambassador on the results of the tests.The European Union, NATO and the OPCW will also be briefed about Navalny.

Navalny was rushed to hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk on August 20 after collapsing on the Tomsk-Moscow flight. He was in a coma and was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. On August 22, he was airlifted to the German hospital Charite. On August 24, German doctors said that indicators of cholinesterase inhibitors had been found in his body. The doctors added that his life was out of danger but long-term complications for his nervous system could not be ruled out.