Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has reportedly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of being behind his poisoning, in his first interview published since he left the German hospital where he was treated.
“I assert that Putin is behind this act, I don’t see any other explanation,” he told the German weekly Der Spiegel, which published extracts from the interview on its website Thursday.
The Kremlin critic was discharged just over a week ago and his first comments to the press came as European leaders were holding a summit during which the question of a response to Russia may be raised over the Kremlin critic’s case.
Germany, which holds the presidency of the EU, has said toxicology tests show he was poisoned by the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has also warned Moscow of possible sanctions if it failed to thoroughly investigate the case.
In a sign of how seriously she was taking the case, the German leader paid a visit to Navalny in the Berlin hospital Charite where he was receiving treatment.
The Kremlin has firmly denied allegations of involvement and accused Western leaders of launching a disinformation campaign over the opposition leader’s illness.
Instead, it pointed to tests carried out by Russian doctors who first treated Navalny showing no toxic substances.
