NATO calls on Moscow to fully reveal its Novichok program

The main Russian opponent Alexei Navalny -

NATO hardens its tone.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday called on Moscow to fully reveal its Novichok program, after the poisoning of Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny.

"We call on Russia to communicate fully on its Novichok program with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)," Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels after an exceptional meeting of the Alliance dedicated to the Navalny affair.

"A total lack of respect for human life"

“NATO allies agree that now Russia must answer some serious questions.

The Russian government must fully cooperate with the OPCW within the framework of an impartial international investigation, ”he added.

And to call on those responsible for this poisoning to be brought to justice.

"Any use of chemical weapons shows a total lack of respect for human life and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law," he continued.

He said Germany had informed NATO allies of the results of its investigation, according to which Navalny had been exposed to a Novichok-type nerve agent, designed in Soviet times for military purposes.

Stoltenberg did not want to speculate on possible sanctions against Russia.

Stoltenberg's call, coming from an alliance that was built during the cold war against the USSR, risks not being heard even if there is a forum for dialogue between Moscow and NATO.

Main opponent of the Kremlin and anti-corruption activist, Alexeï Navalny, 44, was hospitalized in Siberia at the end of August after becoming unwell on a plane.

He was then transported to Berlin where he remains in serious condition.

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• Chemical Weapons

• Moscow

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• NATO