OPCW member countries urge Russia to disclose information on Navalny’s poisoning

Fifty-six of the 193 countries belonging to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have condemned the “Novichok” nerve agent poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny. This was announced in a joint statement at the 25th Session of the Conference of State Parties to the OPCW on Monday, November 30. 

The statement calls on Russia to “disclose in a swift and transparent manner the circumstances of this chemical attack” and thereby assist the conference in its aim to oversee the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The joint statement was issued by the United States, all of the European Union’s member states, as well as Australia, Canada, South Korea, Georgia, Ukraine, and a number of other countries.

On October 6, the OPCW confirmed Germany’s conclusion that Alexey Navalny was poisoned with a poisonous substance from the Novichok group. In response, the European Union imposed sanctions on a number of high-level Kremlin officials and members of the Russian security services.

Russia denies any involvement in Navalny’s poisoning. The Kremlin maintains that medical tests conducted in Omsk didn’t reveal any traces of poisonous substances in Navalny’s system.