US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday (15 February) described as “disturbing” a report by five European allies accusing Russia of killing Alexei Navalny, a critic of President Vladimir Putin, using a toxin obtained from poisonous frogs.
Rubio said at a press conference in Bratislava that Washington had no reason to dispute the findings.
“Of course we’re aware of that report. It’s a disturbing report. We’re aware of the Mr. Navalny case and certainly … we have no reason to question it. We don’t question it. We’re not going to fight these countries over it. But it was their report and they put it out there,” Rubio said.
European allies blame Moscow
In a joint statement issued on Saturday (February 14th), Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said laboratory analyzes of samples from Navalny’s body had “conclusively” confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a powerful toxin found in Ecuadorian poison dart frogs that does not occur naturally in Russia.
The countries said Moscow had the “means, motive and opportunity” to administer the poison while Navalny was imprisoned in an Arctic penal colony.
“Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. But given the toxicity of epibatidine and the reported symptoms, poisoning was very likely the cause of his death,” the statement said.
The findings come nearly two years after Navalny died on February 16, 2024, in a Siberian prison colony while serving a 19-year sentence for extremism and other charges he denied.
Moscow denies the accusations
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied involvement in Navalny’s death.
Russian state news agency TASS quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as dismissing the claims as propaganda.
“Until the results of the tests are available and the formulas of the substances are published, we will comment accordingly. Until then, all such claims are just propaganda, the goal of which is to divert attention from pressing Western problems,” Zakharova said.
The Russian embassy in London also rejected the allegations, calling them a “Western propaganda hoax”.
Navalny’s widow: “Now there is proof”
Navalny’s death was announced minutes before the start of the 2024 Munich Security Conference.
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, spoke at the conference and called for accountability again this year.
“I was sure from the first day that my husband was poisoned, but now there is proof… I am grateful to the European states for the careful work they have done for two years and for revealing the truth,” she said on social networks.
She added on Saturday that it is now “scientifically proven” that her husband was murdered.
The Kremlin maintains natural causes
The Kremlin has never provided a detailed explanation for Navalny’s death, saying only that he fell ill after a walk in his prison colony and died suddenly.
Putin said in 2024 that Navalny “died”. His death came weeks before Russia’s presidential election and sparked protests and memorial rallies in European cities including London, Berlin, Vilnius and Rome.
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