Russian ambassador to UK summoned to Foreign Office over Navalny’s alleged ‘poisoning,’ embassy decries ‘politicization’ of case

The UK government has summoned Russian Ambassador Andrey Kelin to express its “deep concern” over what it called the “poisoning” of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny. The diplomat brushed off the accusations as “baseless.”

The British Foreign Office urged Moscow to conduct a “full, transparent investigation” into the matter, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a Twitter post, adding that London considers it “completely unacceptable that a banned chemical weapon has been used” while stopping short of directly accusing Russian authorities of being involved in the incident. 

The Russian embassy, in turn, said that “baseless accusations” and “politicization” of the case, which it described as a “purely medical” one, was unacceptable. The  statement also alleged that it is Germany that is dragging its feet on the investigation, as it has not sent a response to Russia’s inquiry about Navalny’s case. Kelin said that Moscow is fully committed to the obligations it has undertaken under the Chemical Weapons Convention. 

The developments came after Germany’s top diplomat, Heiko Maas, said that the anti-corruption campaigner had been poisoned with ‘Novichok’ – the infamous chemical agent allegedly used in the attack on the former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK, which London also blamed on Russia. Skripal’s poisoning sparked a major international scandal and a spike in tensions between Russia and the EU.

Now, Germany says it expects Moscow to investigate what it calls a “serious crime” while threatening Russia with new sanctions. Berlin has been sending mixed signals, however, apparently undecided on what specific measures it is willing and ready to take.

On Sunday, Maas said Berlin could go as far as to stop the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline construction project should it not be satisfied with Moscow’s response. The next day, however, a government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said it was “too early” to speak about anything like that.

Moscow appears to be not particularly concerned about the risks for the Nord Stream 2 project, while calling the very idea of sanctions over the alleged poisoning “absurd.” Berlin has still not presented any specific evidence supporting its ‘Novichok poisoning’ narrative, at least publicly. Nor did it share any information with the Russian side, despite a formal request to do so.

On Monday, Navalny emerged from a medically induced coma, in which he was first placed in a Siberian hospital in late August.

Initially hospitalized in Omsk after feeling unwell during a flight to Moscow, he was transferred to Berlin’s Charité hospital on his family’s insistence, and was declared a “guest of the chancellor,” Angela Merkel. German officials claim that the medics there have found traces of the Novichok chemical agent in his bodily fluids.

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