STA, 2 September 2020 - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry has condemned the confirmed poisoning of Alexei Navalny, as the German government announced on Wednesday that the Russian opposition politician had been attacked in Russia with a chemical nerve agent.
"The use of the nerve agent to silence an opposition leader is unacceptable. We expect clarifications from the Russian Federation and its cooperation with the international community," the ministry said on Twitter.
Slovenian MFA ?? strongly condemns the proven poisoning of Alexei #Navalny. We expect Russian ?? authorities to immediately investigate this crime and cooperate with international community. @govSlovenia
— SLOVENIAN MFA (@MZZRS) September 2, 2020
The German government said today that testing, initiated by a hospital in Germany and performed by the German army, had clearly confirmed that Navalny had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the novichok group.
Slovenia ?? emphasises the importance of Chemical Weapons Convention and total prohibition of chemical weapons. Supporting Germany ?? in its intention to inform @OPCW about chemical attack on #Navalny. @govSlovenia @GermanyDiplo @vladaRS
— SLOVENIAN MFA (@MZZRS) September 2, 2020
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Russia needed to answer the questions about the poisoning, adding that Navalny was a victim of a criminal act.
Merkel said that it was an attempt to silence the opposition politician and condemned it in the strictest terms on behalf of the German government.
The Kremlin said over a spokesperson that it was willing and interested in fully cooperating with Germany in the Navalny case.
