Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs:
“The Navalny sanctions, if enacted, will become a symbol of the West’s unscrupulous struggle against Russia and a synonym for political provocation.
Mr. Navalny was in Germany for treatment without any traces of poisoning, and this is a medical fact in the literal sense. Today, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, once again recalled the destruction of all Novichok stocks in Russia in accordance with the requirements of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, as well as other toxic substances, by the way. And this has been confirmed by OPCW experts. How and where, after crossing the Russian border, combat poisons could have entered Navalny’s body, if this is really so – this, in my opinion, should become a reason for a separate independent investigation.
All these questions in one form or another (first of all, official) were asked to our German partners. However, we still have not received answers with references to the exclusive competence of the OPCW. However, the patient analysis samples from the Charite clinic were transferred to laboratories in France and Sweden, bypassing this organization. Where is the logic? Apparently, our European colleagues do not need it when the task is to further contain Russia.
The Skripals case and the alleged poisoning of Navalny are links in one large provocative chain that destroys international law. Staging and rigging, unfortunately, have become the usual methods of the West to realize cynical goals to ensure their advantages in geopolitical competition. “
