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Kiev backs Berlin’s findings on Navalny, pushes global community to get tough on Moscow

According to the Foreign Ministry, Ukraine fully trusted the results of Navalny’s tests conducted by Germany, as well as the laboratories in France and Sweden
Germany's landmark Brandenburg Gate seen in front of the central Charite building, where Alexey Navalny is treated, in Berlin, Germany AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
Germany's landmark Brandenburg Gate seen in front of the central Charite building, where Alexey Navalny is treated, in Berlin, Germany
© AP Photo/Markus Schreiber

KIEV, September 16. /TASS/. Ukraine is siding with Germany’s conclusions regarding the case of blogger Alexey Navalny and is imploring the international community to continue "coordinated pressure" on Russia, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Given the high probability of the Russian Federation’s involvement in the poisoning, Ukraine is calling on the international community to continue coordinated pressure on Russia so that it stops threatening global security and violating international law through aggression against its own citizens and other states," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry added that Ukraine fully trusted the results of Navalny’s tests conducted by Germany, as well as the laboratories in France and Sweden, and welcomes the participation of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the investigation into the incident.

According to Kiev, the Russian government is likely to be involved in the Navalny incident. "Ukraine was concerned about the German government’s statement on the results of tests of biological samples of Alexey Navalny, one of the Russian opposition leaders. This may indicate the involvement of the Russian government in illegal actions with the use of a Novichok chemical warfare agent in violation of the convention prohibiting this type of weapon of mass destruction," the statement said.

At a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier opened up about the Navalny case condemning the episode.

On August 20, a plane carrying Navalny made an emergency landing in the Russian city of Omsk after the blogger had suddenly felt unwell in mid-flight. Navalny was taken to the hospital in a coma and was hooked up to a ventilator. On August 22, he was flown to Germany for treatment at Berlin’s Charite hospital.

On September 2, the German government said, citing the results of a toxicological analysis by Bundeswehr experts, that Navalny had been allegedly poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.

For his part, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was ready for comprehensive cooperation with Berlin, while the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that no evidence had been furnished to substantiate these accusations.