Five European countries, including the UK, France, and Germany, accused Russia of “poisoning” opposition leader and staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin — Alexei Navalny. The foreign ministries of the countries have confirmed the presence of “epibatidine”, which is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia.
“We know the Russian state now used this lethal toxin to target Navalny in fear of his opposition,” the UK’s foreign office said in a statement.
In a joint statement, the countries – UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands – said that “Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison,” adding that they were reporting Russia to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this form of poison the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition.”
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