‘Full & transparent’ investigation: NATO & EU leaders demand Russia investigates ‘attack’ on opposition figure Navalny

European Council President Charles Michel and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg have demanded that the Russian authorities urgently and thoroughly investigate the poisoning of opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that the anti-corruption campaigner had “without doubt” been poisoned with a ‘Novichok’ class chemical agent. According to the Charite Clinic in Berlin, where Navalny is currently being treated, he remains on a ventilator, and his recovery is likely to be lengthy. 

Writing on Twitter, Stoltenberg condemned the “attack” on Navalny, urging Russia to conduct a “full and transparent” investigation.

Michel also tweeted with similar language, condemning what he called an “attempt to silence opposition leader Navalny.”

Stoltenberg and Michel’s demands have been echoed by a litany of world leaders, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden also tweeted, condemning US President Donald Trump’s silence on the issue, promising that he would “hold the Putin regime accountable for its crimes” if elected in November.

On August 20, Navalny was taken ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in another city, Omsk, 2,000km east of the capital, where the activist was taken to hospital. Two days later, after a request from his associates and his family, Navalny was flown to Berlin’s Charite clinic. On August 24, German doctors said that clinical studies results indicated that he was poisoned with a cholinesterase inhibitor.

Despite Germany’s poisoning claims, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian doctors did not find any toxic substances in Navalny's system.

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