French and Swedish laboratories have confirmed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve-agent of the Novichok group.
"We renew the call for Russia to explain what has happened. We are in close contact with our European partners on further steps," according to a statement posted on the German Government's website.
Germany has asked France and Sweden for an independent review of the German evidence based on Navalny's new samples, the report notes, adding that the results of the review confirm the German evidence.
"Regardless of the ongoing investigations by the OPCW, three laboratories have now independently provided evidence of a nerve agent from the Novichok group as the cause of Mr. Navalny's poisoning," the German Government said.
Navalny poisoning: background
- Russian opposition's Alexei Navalny felt sick on board the plane he was flying from the city of Tomsk to Moscow on August 20. His rapidly deteriorating condition forced the captain to perform an emergency landing in Omsk.
- Navalny's press secretary assumed the politician's tea had been laced with poison.
- Navalny was evacuated from Omsk to Germany on an ambulance aircraft for further medical treatment on Saturday, August 22.
- Experts with the Bundeswehr laboratory found in Navalny's body traces of poison from the Novichok group. In this regard, Berlin called on Moscow to explain the circumstances of the poisoning of the Russian opposition figure.
- On September 10, it was reported Navalny had made further progress in his recovery and was able to speak again.
