Page 11 - RusRPTOct20

Angela Merkel unleashed a storm when she announced that a top German military lab had shown the ​toxicological tests using samples from Navalny had revealed "unequivocal proof of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group", had been used to poison the opposition activist.
"It is shocking information about the attempted murder by poison of one of Russia's leading opposition members," said Merkel at a news conference, using some of the most aggressive rhetoric she has ever used to condemn the attack. "This means that Alexei Navalny is a victim of a crime. It was an attempt to silence him. I condemn this in the strongest possible terms on behalf of the entire German government. There are very serious questions now that only the Russian government can answer, and must answer,” she added.
She went on to suggest that sanctions on Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could not be ruled out unless the Russian government cooperated in the investigation “within days” but stopped short of explicitly saying the project would be halted. Merkel has received a lot of flak for backing the project that will by pass Poland and Ukraine, saying it is an “economic” project and should not be linked to the political problems between the two countries, although that stance has been weakened by her latest comments.
Now that Germany has released the data to the OPCW the government regards its obligations fulfilled. ​German Government Deputy Spokesperson Martina Fitz noted that in the wake of this step, Berlin does not see the conditions for Germany to hand over its conclusive evidence to Russia in relation to Navalny’s case. "We maintain our position, calling on the Russian side to provide information [on Navalny]," she said.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said later that Russia is ready for comprehensive cooperation with Germany, if the data is shared, but highlighted that before Navalny was transferred to Berlin, no toxic substances had been found in his system by Russian doctors attending Navalny.
More details came out on the nature of the poison, which is reportedly a unique form of the Russian nerve agent that has never been seen before and is especially virulent.
If Navalny’s pilot had not immediately made the emergency landing in Omsk and if the Russian doctors had not immediately treated Navalny with the correct antidote for Novichok he would have died.
The chief toxicologist at the Siberian hospital who was the first to treat Navalny, Alexander Sabaev, said he initially suspected poisoning and that he and his colleagues treated him the emergency drug atropine, Reuters reported​. The initial correct diagnosis and use of the correct drug that saved Navalny’s life belie the doctors’ later claims that they had found no evidence of poisoning.
Some have speculated that the current mess is a result of the plan to kill Navalny going wrong thanks to the prompt action of the pilot and Sabaev. On the morning of August 20 the Omsk airport received a bomb hoax call that
11 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ October 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com