MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Russia rejects Western allegations that Alexey Navalny died by poisoning, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

Earlier, the UK and Swedish governments issued a statement asserting that Navalny was allegedly poisoned with epibatidine, a toxin derived from the skin of a poison dart frog native to Ecuador. Their conclusion, which came out on the anniversary of Navalny’s death, was reportedly based on "laboratory analysis." Russian forensic pathologists said however that this was a natural death.

"Very negative," Peskov told reporters when asked about Moscow’s reaction to Western expert "findings." "Naturally, we reject such accusations. We disagree with them. We consider them biased and ungrounded," he stressed. "We categorically reject them."

Navalny died in a penal colony in Yamal on February 16, 2024. According to the Federal Penitentiary Service, Navalny felt sick after a walk and fainted. Medics arrived immediately but their resuscitation efforts failed.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the Western countries’ allegations as fake news meant to divert attention from their own problems.