Raab urges Moscow to ‘tell the truth’ over Novichok poisoning of Kremlin critic
Dominic Raab has urged Moscow to “tell the truth” about the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, saying it is “absolutely unacceptable” the Russian opposition leader was poisoned by the same nerve agent deployed in Salisbury.
The Foreign Secretary said on Wednesday that Russia has “a clear case to answer” after the German government said the Kremlin critic was targeted with Novichok in an attempted murder.
Britain has long accused Russian operatives of using the Soviet-era poison to target Sergei Skripal, the former double agent targeted in the 2018 attack in the Wiltshire city.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Mr Navalny, who is undergoing treatment in Berlin, was the victim of an “attempted murder by poisoning” and the aim was to silence Mr Navalny, a fierce opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr Raab said he was “deeply concerned” that Mr Navalny had been poisoned by Novichok, which led to the death of 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess after she was exposed to the nerve agent in Salisbury.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that this banned chemical weapon has been used again, and once more we see violence directed against a leading Russian opposition figure,” he said in a statement.
Deeply concerned that Alexey @navalny was poisoned by Novichok, a nerve agent used with lethal effect in the UK.
The Russian government has a clear case to answer and we will work closely with our intn’l partners to see the perpetrators held to account.
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) September 2, 2020
“The Russian government has a clear case to answer. It must tell the truth about what happened to Mr Navalny.
“We will work closely with Germany, our allies and international partners to demonstrate that there are consequences for using banned chemical weapons anywhere in the world.”
