Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said he is “deeply concerned” by preliminary conclusions by German doctors who say that Alexei Navalny, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was poisoned last week.
One day prior, doctors in Berlin said medical examinations have determined that Mr. Navalny had “probably” been poisoned while drinking tea on a flight to Siberia before he fell ill last Thursday.
The German hospital said it does not yet know what specific substance was used to poison Mr. Navalny, but long-term effects from the incident are possible.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin on Tuesday rejected the preliminary findings and called the conclusions “empty noise,” the BBC reported.
“We can’t take such accusations seriously,” said Putin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov. “They absolutely cannot be true,” he continued, adding that the Kremlin does not intend to take the claims “seriously.”
“We don’t understand why our German colleagues are in such a hurry,” Mr. Peskov said.
A spokesperson for Mr. Navalny quickly hit back at Mr. Peskov’s comments and tweeted, “it was obvious that the crime would not be properly investigated and the culprit found. However, we all know perfectly well who he is.”
In a statement, Mr. Pompeo said that if the reports of a poisoning are accurate, “the United States supports the EU’s call for a comprehensive investigation and stands ready to assist in that effort.”
“Mr. Navalny’s family and the Russian people deserve to see a full and transparent investigation carried out, and for those involved to be held accountable,” he said. “Our thoughts are with Mr. Navalny’s family and we hope for his full recovery.”
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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