Russia Says Navalny 'Disinformation' Being Used For New Sanctions
Moscow said on Wednesday a
"disinformation campaign" over the alleged poisoning of opposition
figure Alexei Navalny was being used to promote new sanctions against Russia.
Moscow released a statement after the Group of
Seven foreign ministers demanded on Tuesday that Russia quickly find and
prosecute those behind Navalny's suspected poisoning, which Germany says was
carried out with a Novichok nerve agent.
The "ongoing massive disinformation
campaign" aims at "mobilising sanctions sentiment" and has
nothing to do with Navalny's health or "finding out the genuine reasons
for his hospitalisation", the Russian foreign ministry said.
In its statement in response to the G7, the
foreign ministry also reiterated accusations that Germany, where Navalny was
evacuated, has been refusing to share its findings on his case with Moscow.
"Unfounded attacks on Russia are
continuing," the ministry said, with a "whipping up of hysteria"
around the case.
The top diplomats from the major industrial
democracies said that Germany briefed them with confirmation that President
Vladimir Putin's leading critic was poisoned.
The statement was released by the United
States and included Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The other G7 nations are Britain, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Russia was expelled from the then Group of
Eight over its 2014 takeover of Crimea from Ukraine.
Navalny, a 44-year-old lawyer who has been
Putin's leading critic, suddenly fell seriously ill last month as he took a
flight in Siberia.
The Berlin hospital treating him said Monday
that he was out of a medically induced coma and reacting to speech.
