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The news that the critic of the Russian regime Alexei Navalny has been poisoned with the neurotoxin novichok has provoked strong reactions among several world leaders.
At a press conference, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven now condemns the incident.
– It is quite clear that the Russian government has some questions to answer.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin for bilateral talks.
In addition to issues relating to EU cooperation and the crown pandemic, the two leaders also discussed the poisoning of the Russian regime critic Alexei Navalny, who according to the German government was “undoubtedly” poisoned with the neurotoxin novitjok.
– There is no doubt that Alexei Navalny is the victim of a crime. The intention was to silence her and I condemn her in the strongest possible terms, Merkel announced Wednesday.
Photo: CAROLINA BYRMO
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.
“You must be ready to act”
At Thursday’s press conference, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven also condemned the incident:
– We condemn the assassination attempt in the strongest possible terms and it is quite clear that the Russian government has some questions to answer. This needs to be investigated in more detail, thoroughly and transparently. The use of chemical weapons is a violation of international law and the EU is united in its response that we must be prepared to act in the future, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven declared.
The news that Navalny was poisoned by the Soviet nerve agent has drawn much criticism around the world.
“A heinous and cowardly act, again,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, while a British prime minister, Boris Johnson, described the act as “scandalous”.
Photo: PAVEL GOLOVKIN / AP
Regime critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the neurotoxin Novitjok.
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / TT NEWS AGENCY
Russia has denied reports that Navalny was poisoned.
Reject the accusations
The head of the NATO alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, described the message as “shocking” and, like the Swedish prime minister, demands a full, transparent and swift Russian investigation.
The Kremlin, in turn, denies any accusations that the Russian state had anything to do with the poisoning.
According to spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia is ready to cooperate with Germany, but at the same time points out that there is no reason to “blame the Russian state for the poisoning” and warns against drawing too quick conclusions about what happened.
Peskov also says there is no reason to discuss sanctions against Moscow.
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