A group of 45 countries, including France, Britain, Germany and Canada, demanded Tuesday before the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that Russia provide an explanation after the poisoning in 2020 of the opponent Alexeï Navalny.
Moscow has 10 days to respond to questions posed by countries, in accordance with the rules of the Hague-based OPCW, said representatives of the 45 states including all European Union countries, according to the ambassador of France in the Netherlands.
Read alsoThe opponent Navalny still pugnacious despite the prison
For Western experts, the opponent to the Kremlin fell victim to the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok in August 2020.
Alexeï Navalny was treated in Germany before being imprisoned on his return to Russia.
Moscow has always denied any involvement.
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Today 45 States Parties, including Great Britain, informed the OPCW Executive Council that they will formally ask Russia questions about the poisoning of Navalny under Article 9 of the Convention
The British delegation said on Twitter.
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Russia has 10 days to respond,
” she added.
Read alsoRussia blocks 49 websites linked to Navalny, according to an opponent's ally
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It is essential that Russia sets out in detail the measures taken to investigate and shed light on the use of a chemical weapon on its territory
", it is written in an excerpt from the statement of the 45 countries, posted on Twitter by the British delegation.
Comprised of 41 member states, the OPCW's Executive Council meets this week to discuss progress in eliminating chemical weapons around the world.
The member states of the executive council also called on Syria on Monday to authorize the arrival on its soil of inspectors.
They believe that Damascus continues to violate its obligations regarding the verification of the possible presence of chemical weapons on sites likely to produce or stock them.