Kathrine Frich
Western governments have publicly accused the Russian state of killing the opposition leader.
The allegation follows laboratory analysis of material samples taken from his body.
Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said testing had confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a highly toxic substance derived from South American poison dart frogs. The compound does not occur naturally in Russia.
In a joint position, the five countries said there was no credible alternative explanation for the toxin being found and described poisoning as “highly likely” to have caused his death while in custody.
Foreign office statement
The UK Foreign Office said the Russian state was responsible for Navalny’s death.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said:
“Since Yulia Navalnaya announced the loss of her husband here in Munich two years ago, the UK has pursued the truth of Alexei Navalny’s death with fierce determination. Only the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia. Today, beside his widow, the UK is shining a light on the Kremlin’s barbaric plot to silence his voice.”
The five governments said they had formally notified the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of what they described as a Russian breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
They also warned that the findings raised fresh concerns over whether Moscow had fully declared or destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles.
Earlier poisonings
In their joint statement, the countries referred to the 2020 poisoning of Navalny with the Novichok nerve agent, which they had previously attributed to Russia.
They also cited the 2018 Salisbury attack in the UK, in which Dawn Sturgess died after exposure to a nerve agent.
The ministers said in both cases they believed only the Russian state had the “combined means, motive and disregard for international law” to carry out such attacks.
Russia has consistently denied involvement in Navalny’s death, maintaining that he died of natural causes while in prison.
The Kremlin has previously rejected Western accusations over poisonings as politically motivated and lacking evidence.
Sources: UK Foreign Office, Express.
