NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2020) The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has said that it needs Berlin's approval to share with Russia the formula of the substance allegedly used against opposition figure Alexey Navalny, Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told Sputnik.
"They say Germany has not agreed to it. This is all very strange," Nebenzia said.
The diplomat said that the substance was not on the recent list that included the so-called Novichok group.
"In fact, nobody knows anything about this substance, it is not listed in the convention. Germans say, "We do not want to share the formula, because we would then be unveiling a horrible secret," Nebenzia said.
The diplomat added that Germany gave no answers to Russia so far and it was unclear if it would.
Navalny was hospitalized in the city of Omsk on August 20, after he fell ill on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Doctors in Omsk diagnosed him with metabolism malfunction, which led to a sudden change in blood sugar levels. It is unclear what caused that, but Omsk doctors found no trace of poisonous substances in his blood and urine.
Navalny was later transported to Germany. Shortly after his arrival in a clinic in Berlin, the German government claimed, citing military doctors, that he had been poisoned with a Novichok-type nerve agent. Berlin then said that the conclusions of Germany were backed by laboratories in Sweden and France. The OPCW has opened its own investigation at the request of Berlin. The Kremlin has said that Berlin did not inform Moscow about its conclusions. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia was still waiting for a reply from Germany on this issue.
Russian prosecutors and police began a pre-trial investigation the day Navalny was hospitalized. Kremlin has said that the probes were opened de facto and if the poisonous substance was confirmed, they would be launched de jure as well. The Kremlin said Russia was ready to cooperate with Europe on this incident but would need some information first.
The German government, meanwhile, did not deny the reports of German intelligence having had access to Novichok-type poison since the 1990s.
The clinic in Berlin said that Navalny was discharged on September 23 in a satisfactory condition, with a chance at full recovery.
