MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The Western countries’ unwillingness to listen to the Russian side during the 98th session of the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) Executive Council has demonstrated the true value of their concern for the well-being of blogger Alexey Navalny, Russian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Permanent Representative to the OPCW Alexander Shulgin stated on Tuesday.
According to the diplomat, during the session held in early October 2021, Russia planned to make a demarche in response to the UK, however, the country’s envoy was not allowed to speak for more than an hour under various pretexts.
"Finally, I asked the US and UK envoys, <…> whether they want to listen to Moscow’s stance on this case. [They] <…> only shrugged their shoulders, asking to send it by email. This is the true value of the showy concern of the Western states for the health and well-being of our blogger. I believe they have no interest in him, the main thing for them is to create pretexts for exerting political pressure and imposing new sanctions against Russia," Shulgin noted.
As the Russian diplomat pointed out, the West’s claims against Russia regarding the Navalny case are politically motivated. "Russia strictly complies with its obligations [under the OPCW Convention]. [Our country] sets an example of a careful attitude towards the convention in many ways. We completed the elimination of chemical arsenals and weapons ahead of schedule back in 2017, which was confirmed by the OPCW experts," the diplomat went on to say. "Therefore, all the claims, put forward against us, are politically motivated, including the case of Russian blogger [Alexey Navalny]."
Navalny was hospitalized in Omsk on August 20, 2020, after he fell sick during a flight. He was later transported to Berlin for treatment. The German government made a statement on September 2 that the blogger was exposed to a toxic agent from the Novichok family. According to Berlin, these conclusions were confirmed by laboratories in France and Sweden. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, has repeatedly said that no toxic agents had been found before Navalny was transported to Berlin and said Moscow was ready for comprehensive cooperation with Berlin.