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| - Germany said Wednesday that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, leading Chancellor Angela Merkel to demand answers from the Kremlin and sparking condemnation in Europe. "It is certain that Alexei Navalny is the victim of a crime. He was meant to be silenced and I condemn this in the strongest possible terms, on behalf of the German government," Merkel said. The latest in a long line of attacks on Russian defectors and opposition figures sent tensions between Moscow and its EU partners spiralling, with Merkel saying there are now "some very serious questions that only Russia can and must answer." British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that Russia "must tell the truth" about what happened, while the European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen criticised a "despicable and cowardly act - once again". The German government said in a statement issued earlier Wednesday that tests carried out by its armed forces' chemical weapons laboratory found "unequivocal evidence" from samples taken from Navalny that the military-grade Novichok agent was used. The nerve agent is a military-grade poison that was developed by the Soviet government towards the end of the Cold War and can be deployed in an ultra-fine powder, liquid or vapour. It was used against against ex-double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in 2018, a poisoning that the West believes was ordered by the Kremlin. Navalny, 44, fell ill after boarding a plane in Siberia last month. He was initially treated in a local hospital before being flown to Berlin for treatment The Kremlin, which has previously questioned the credibility of German doctors, said Russia was ready to cooperate fully. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti state news agency that "we are ready and have an interest in full cooperation and exchange of data on this topic with Germany." The Charite hospital on Wednesday reported improvements in Navalny's recovery but said he remains in a serious condition. The charismatic Yale-educated lawyer, who has been Russia's leading opposition politician for around a decade, is still in the intensive care unit and remains on a ventilator. "Recovery is likely to be lengthy. It is still too early to gauge the long-term effects which may arise in relation to this severe poisoning," added the hospital. Charite doctors said they believed the anti-corruption campaigner was poisoned with a substance that inhibits the cholinesterase enzyme, a feature of nerve agents. The Russian government has previously been accused over two poisonings in Britain. In 2006, President Vladimir Putin was blamed for the radiation poisoning death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in the British capital. The Kremlin was also accused of being behind the attempted murder two years ago of ex-double agent Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, southwest England, using a Novichok nerve agent. The Skripals spent days in a coma before recovering but local resident Dawn Sturgess died after picking up a discarded perfume bottle that was allegedly used to carry the poison. "Only the state (FSB, GRU) can use Novichok. This is beyond any reasonable doubt," Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said on Twitter on Wednesday, referring to the FSB internal security and GRU military intelligence services. The German government said it would inform NATO and EU partners over its findings and seek a joint reaction on the case. It also plans to contact the global toxic arms watchdog OPCW over the results. Navalny's allies say he may have been poisoned by a cup of tea he drank at Tomsk airport in Siberia. But the Russian doctors who first treated Navalny said their tests did not find any toxic substances, and the Kremlin has rejected international calls for an investigation. On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency Ria Novovsti that Russia had not been informed about the German government's latest findings. Russia has for years drawn the anger of Western powers, from annexing Ukraine's Crimea to meddling in elections and backing Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria. Merkel has walked a fine line, stressing the importance of dialogue with Putin while making clear her disapproval of Russian moves on the world stage. But Navalny's poisoning risks further fraying already tattered ties, coming after a murder in a central Berlin park in August last year which German prosecutors believe was ordered by Russia. Merkel had also revealed in May that Russia had targeted her in hacking attacks, saying she had concrete proof of the "outrageous" spying attempts. hmn-am/adp
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