Navalny affair turns into diplomatic dispute between Berlin and Moscow

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Has Russian opponent Alexei Navalny been poisoned? For the German doctors who treat him, there is hardly any doubt. The Russian doctors who initially examined him continue to claim the opposite. And the case turns more and more to diplomatic litigation. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has indeed reacted strongly by calling on the Russian authorities.

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Angela Merkel doesn't mince words. In a statement, the German Chancellor urges the Russian authorities to "  resolve this matter urgently, in great detail and in full transparency  ." She also calls for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Angela Merkel published this press release just after the conclusions of the German hospital which treats Alexeï Navalny. Examinations carried out on the Russian opponent show signs of poisoning , doctors said. It is said to be a substance similar to the one that poisoned the former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter two years ago in London.

Despite the data provided by the German hospital, the Russian doctors who first examined Alexeï Navalny reaffirmed that they had not found any substance suggesting poisoning.

The Russian opponent was seized with unease last Thursday when he had just taken the plane in Siberia. Hospitalized in Russia, he was finally transferred to Germany . He is still in a coma but, according to doctors, his life is not in danger.

In turn, the European Union calls for a “ transparent and independent  ” investigation  in Moscow.

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