[ad_1]
Published in: Last update:
Berlin (AFP)
A prominent Kremlin opponent, Alexei Navalny, accused President Vladimir Putin of being behind his poisoning, which Moscow continues to deny, and vowed to return to Russia to continue his opposition campaign.
In his first published interview since he was poisoned, Navalny recounted gruesome details when he lost consciousness on a plane from Tomsk to Moscow, after being poisoned with what Western countries said was Novichok nerve gas, whose development dates back to the it was soviet.
And the 44-year-old opposition, which campaigns against corruption, said that experience will not deter it and vowed to recover as soon as it continues its fight.
He told the weekly Der Spiegel: “Not going back means Putin has achieved his goal. And my duty now is to remain the one who is not afraid.”
He added: “I will not give Putin a gift so that he does not return to Russia”, and emphasized that for him, “Putin is behind this work, I do not see any other explanation.”
The Kremlin spokesman condemned the accusation, saying that this accusation was “unfounded and unacceptable”, noting that Western intelligence services, including the CIA, “are working” with the opposition.
For his part, the Speaker of the Russian Parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, said: “Navalny is not ashamed, he is a scoundrel. Putin saved his life. ”
He accused the prominent opposition figure of “working with the security services and authorities of Western countries.”
Navalny replied on Instagram: “I don’t understand. What did he save me from?”
The opposition added: “If Putin believes us, the only thing that saved me from that is alcohol, diabetes or a simulation of poisoning,” referring to the various theories that the Russian authority transmitted to explain the cause of fatigue on board the plane. .
Navalny was flown to Berlin for treatment after fainting on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow in August, returning from a campaign to support opposition candidates in local elections.
The Kremlin fairs were discharged from the hospital more than a week ago. Her first comments to the press were parallel to a summit of European leaders in which they were able to discuss the issue of responding to Russia regarding her case.
And Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, announced that the toxicology tests it had carried out showed the presence of the poison Novichok, which has military uses.
France and Sweden independently confirmed the findings of the German report.
For its part, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government warned Moscow of possible sanctions if it did not carry out a thorough investigation of the case.
The Kremlin vehemently denied allegations of its involvement in the incident and accused Western leaders of launching a disinformation campaign about the opposition disease.
He cited tests by Russian doctors who initially treated Navalny, which did not reveal any toxins.
– Coordination exercises for movement –
Navalny arrived in Berlin in a coma and was breathing with the help of a ventilator. He was discharged on September 22 after a 32-day treatment at the Charité Hospital in the German capital, including 24 days in the intensive care unit.
As a sign of the importance Merkel attached to the case, she visited Navalny, a chancellor, at the hospital.
Merkel also repeatedly emphasized that “only Russia can and should answer” questions on the subject.
For Navalny, “the most important point is Novichok”, accusing Putin of issuing the poisoning order.
He said that only Russian intelligence commanders could issue orders to spread the poison.
Despite his horrible experience, he said he would continue his activity upon his return to Russia.
“I will continue to travel throughout Russia, go to hotels and drink the water in the rooms. What else can I do? No one can do much to confront Putin’s invisible assassins,” he said.
Navalny is currently with his wife and son in Berlin, where he continues his long recovery.
“I go for a walk in the park in the morning, this is my job, then I do some exercises with my doctor and then at night I walk again,” he said.
He also undergoes exercises to “improve coordination of movement so that the hands move in the same direction as the eyes.”
– High voltages –
Navalny’s poisoning exacerbated tensions between Russia and Western countries, especially in relations with Germany.
Merkel has always called for channels of dialogue with Moscow to be kept open, but recently raised the tone at a time when the Navalny case comes a year after a murder in a park in central Berlin, which German prosecutors say it was carried out on the orders of Russia.
Navalny’s aides said German experts found traces of Novichuk in a water bottle taken from his hotel room before he contracted symptoms of the disease.
The package appeared to be one of the main tests that Germany relied on to conclude that an outspoken opponent of President Putin was poisoned with toxic nerve gas.
Novichuk was also used, according to London, to poison double spy Sergey Skripal in Salisbury, England, in 2018, and escaped death. Moscow also denied it.
© 2020 AFP
