WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th January, 2021) Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov has described the remarks of the US Department of State on the alleged use of chemical weapons by Moscow for assassinations as groundless speculation.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that the State Department was currently reviewing Russian actions, including the alleged use of chemical weapons to poison opposition figure Alexey Navalny.
"We have noticed just another speculation by the State Department. This is not the first time we see such groundless accusations against our country, without any actual proofs. We have repeatedly requested such information from our foreign partners and proposed to establish a professional dialogue in order to find the truth. However, our appeals remain unanswered," Antonov said on late Thursday, as quoted by the Embassy's Facebook page.
He pointed out that Russia had completely eliminated its chemical weapons, which was officially proved by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
"At the same time, the USA remains the only state party to the CWC [Chemical Weapons Convention] that has not yet fulfilled its obligations to destroy its chemical weapons stocks. We call on Washington to finalize its chemical demilitarization and stop spreading baseless insinuations about our country," Antonov added.
Navalny was hospitalized in the Russian city of Omsk on August 20 and later transported for treatment to Germany where chemical tests allegedly showed that the politician was poisoned with a nerve agent of the Novichok group. The Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have repeatedly refuted that the opposition figure was poisoned with chemical weapons in Russia.
