PARIS/BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st August, 2020) France and Germany are ready to provide medical assistance to Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was hospitalized in Russia earlier on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel following talks in southern France.
Navalny was on a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow when he suddenly felt unwell. The airplane made an emergency landing in the city of Omsk, where Navalny was hospitalized and put on a ventilator in a coma. Navalny's spokeswoman claimed he could be poisoned, although the Omsk doctors said this was only one of the possibilities.
"As for Navalny, we are very concerned and upset about the situation. This morning, we learned about what happened to him. And I want to say that we express all our support for him, his family, and wishing him recovery. The news we have at the moment is extremely alarming. We continue to monitor the situation. We spoke with the chancellor, of course, we are ready to provide all the necessary assistance to Alexey Navalny and his family in medical terms," Macron said.
Meanwhile, Merkel said that she was stunned by Navalny's hospitalization and his alarming condition. At the same time, the chancellor added that Germany and its hospitals were ready to provide the necessary medical assistance, noting that this will happen in case of a request from Russia.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin learned about the sudden illness of Navalny from the media and wished swift recovery for him. When asked if the Kremlin would help Navalny if he needed treatment abroad amid the coronavirus restrictions, the spokesman said that the authorities were prepared to consider any such request urgently.
