The White House threatened repercussions Wednesday after testing indicated anti-Kremlin activist Alexei Navalny was poisoned in Russia with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
“The United States is deeply troubled by the results released today. Alexei Navalny’s poisoning is completely reprehensible,” said National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot.
“We will work with allies and the international community to hold those in Russia accountable, wherever the evidence leads, and restrict funds for their malign activities,” he said in a statement. “The Russian people have a right to express their views peacefully without fear of retribution of any kind, and certainly not with chemical agents.”
Mr. Navalny, 44, abruptly fell ill during a flight on Aug. 20, and he was transported out of the country two days later to receive medical treatment in Berlin.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Wednesday that tests showed Mr. Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group and called it attempted murder.
“This has given rise to some very serious questions that only Russia can and must answer,” Ms. Merkel said during a press conference.
Novichok was developed by the Soviet military during the 1970s, although Mr. Ullyot said in his statement that Russia continued to use it after the Cold War came to an end.
Indeed, British authorities previously determined former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichok in 2018 in the U.K. and that Russia was responsible.
The White House subsequently accused the Russian government of poisoning them in violation of international chemical weapons regulations and sanctioned Moscow accordingly.
The Kremlin has denied involvement in the poisonings.
“In general, we confirm that we are ready and have an interest in full cooperation and exchange of data on this topic with Germany,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said about Mr. Navalny Wednesday, The Moscow Times reported.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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