Kremlin defies calls to probe Navalny illness, says poisoning not certain

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it saw no need for now to investigate circumstances leading up to opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s grave illness, and that a German clinic’s initial diagnosis of poisoning was not yet conclusive.
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday called for an investigation and for Russia to hold the perpetrators accountable after German doctors found indications of a toxic substance in his body.

Navalny, an outspoken opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was airlifted to Germany for treatment on Saturday after collapsing on a plane while flying back to Moscow from Siberia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the German clinic had not conclusively identified the substance behind Navalny’s illness and that it was unclear why German doctors were “rushing” to use the word poisoning.

“There must be a reason for an investigation. For the moment, all you and I see is that the patient is in a coma,” Peskov told reporters.

The foreign ministry said the alleged poisoning was not of benefit to the country’s leadership, while Peskov added that any suggestions that Putin was somehow involved in Navalny’s illness were untrue and “hot air” that the Kremlin would not take seriously.

Peskov said that if the poisoning was definitively established as the cause, “then, of course, this will be a reason for an investigation.”