OPCW, Russia Continue To Prepare Experts Visit Regarding Navalny Case - Director-General

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th November, 2020) Russia and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are making preparations for the visit of an OPCW mission to the country to look into the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said on Monday.

"On October 6, I received a request from the Russian Federation for a technical assistance visit ... The secretariat and the Russian Federation are currently defining together all the legal, technical operational and logistical parameters in order for this visit to take place," Arias said at the 25th Conference of the State Parties (CSP) of the OPCW.

The Russian opposition politician fell ill in August on a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow. He was initially hospitalized in Russia but later transported to Germany for treatment, where doctors said that they had found traces of a Novichok-type nerve agent in his system, although Russian doctors said that no such substances were found while he was being treated in the country.

The OPCW has opened its own investigation at the request of Berlin. The Kremlin has said that Berlin did not inform Moscow about its conclusions. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia was still waiting for a reply from Germany on this issue.

Russian prosecutors and police began a pre-trial investigation the day Navalny was hospitalized. Kremlin has said that the probes were opened de facto and if the poisonous substance was confirmed, they would be launched de jure as well. The Kremlin said Russia was ready to cooperate with Europe on this incident but would need some information first.

Navalny was discharged on September 23 in a satisfactory condition, with a chance at full recovery.