Live Updates: EU Calls on Russia to Thoroughly Investigate Navalny's 'Assassination Attempt'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The German Foreign Office did not bring up sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergei Nechayev, who was summoned on Wednesday for a briefing on the new findings in the suspected poisoning case of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

A spokesman for the German ruling conservative party’s parliamentary faction said that new sanctions on Russia were on the table following what Chancellor Angela Merkel described as an attempt on Navalny’s life. She said she expected answers from Russia.

"No, the ambassador was told nothing of the kind, nothing at all," Maria Zakharova told Rossiya 24.

She added that so far the narrative of Navalny’s alleged poisoning seemed to be of political nature and had "preconceived measures [sanctions] at its core."

The German government said earlier in the day that tests performed on the 44-year-old’s samples provided undeniable proof that Navalny had been poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok group. He remains in a coma but his poisoning symptoms have been subsiding.

Russia calls on its partners to avoid politicising the incident with Navalny's illness and to rely on the facts alone, a statement by the Russian Embassy in Germany says. 

"We expect the German side to respond as quickly as possible to the request sent by the Russian General Prosecutor's Office to the Federal Office of Justice of Germany on August 27, 2020 for legal assistance in the framework of the inspection on the hospitalization of A. Navalny carried out by the Russian law enforcement agencies," the embassy said.

The Russian Embassy in Germany added that it expects Berlin's most prompt response to Russia's request for legal assistance in the Navalny case. 

"We expect the German side to respond as quickly as possible to the request sent by the Russian General Prosecutor's Office to the Federal Office of Justice of Germany on August 27, 2020 for legal assistance in the framework of the inspection on the hospitalization of A. Navalny carried out by the Russian law enforcement agencies," the embassy said.

It’s outrageous that a chemical weapon was used against Alexey Navalny. We have seen first-hand the deadly consequences of Novichok in the UK. The Russian government must now explain what happened to Mr Navalny – we will work with international partners to ensure justice is done.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) September 2, 2020

The United States is very concerned about the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and will work with its allies to bring those responsible for the poisoning to justice, National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement to Sputnik on Wednesday.

The United Nations is not in a position at this point to comment on the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and believes that if it is confirmed that he has been poisoned, the case should be investigated by the relevant authorities, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

"Before the patient was taken to Berlin, in accordance with all international standards, a whole range of tests was carried out in our country, no toxic substances were detected," Krenlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.