Navalny is out of coma, says hospital
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who
Germany says was poisoned by a weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent, is now out of a medically induced coma and being weaned off mechanical ventilation, the Berlin hospital treating him said on Monday. One of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, Navalny fell ill on a domestic flight last month. “He is responding to verbal stimuli,” Charite hospital said in a statement, adding that it was too early to determine the long-term impact of the poisoning on the 44-year-old.
BERLIN: Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who Germany says was poisoned by a weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent, is now out of a medically induced coma and being weaned off mechanical ventilation, the Berlin hospital treating him said on Monday.
Navalny, 44, an anti-corruption campaigner and one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, fell ill on a domestic flight last month and was treated in a Siberian hospital before being evacuated to the German capital. “He is responding to verbal stimuli,” Charite hospital said in a statement, reporting that his condition “has improved”. But the hospital said it was too early to determine the long-term impact of the so-called poisoning.
Navalny’s aides say they suspect he drank a cup of spiked tea at a Russian airport last month and fell sick. They maintain that the use of Novichok, a militarygrade nerve agent, shows that only the Russian state could be responsible.
But Russia fiercely denied any involvement. “Attempts to somehow associate Russia with what happened are unacceptable to us, they are absurd,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
Russian officials have accused Germany of being slow to share the findings of its investigation, despite a request from prosecutors. “We expect information (from Germany) to be provided in the coming days,” Peskov said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the door to taking action against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which she had staunchly supported so far, as Germany and its allies mull a response to the Navalny episode.
Merkel’s rethinking on the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline underscores the escalating tensions with Putin’s government.
Britain, meanwhile, has summoned the Russian envoy to express its “deep concern” at the “poisoning” of Navalny.