Finnish President Sauli Niinistö says it is “shocking” that a chemical weapon had apparently been used against a Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
"The news of the German government today about Alexei Navalny is worrying," Niinistö wrote in a statement released on Wednesday. "The use of a chemical weapon is shocking. It is important for the entire international community to be as clear as possible about what has happened."
Navalny fell ill last month on a flight from Siberia to Moscow and was transported to a Berlin hospital for treatment when Niinistö was "long call" With the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The Navalny office later thanked the President of Finland for his role in the release of the opposition leader.
The German government released a statement on Wednesday that tests revealed that Navalny had been exposed to the neuromuscular drug Novichok, which had been used in the UK in 2018 in an attack the UK government blames on Russia.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on the Russian government to respond "serious issues" regarding the incident, saying it was an assassination attempt aimed at silencing Navalny.
"Someone tried to silence him and, on behalf of the whole German Government, I strongly condemn it," Merkel said.
A spokesman for the hospital treating Navalny, who had fallen into a coma, said his condition has improved but is still serious and long-term damage cannot be ruled out.
Haavisto: Nervous system use “reprehensible”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto (The Greens) told Yle that he was very worried to learn that Novichok had been used to poison Navalny.
"In the case of the Novitch shock nervous system, it is a chemical weapon and its use in all circumstances, and no one is to be condemned," Haavisto said, adding that attention must now turn to the conditions in which the nervous system has been used.
"The poisoning has taken place on Russian soil. Russian co-operation is needed to find out how Navalny was exposed to the poison," Haavisto said. "The EU must also take a stand together, but as the news is very recent, no joint decisions have yet been taken."
Source: The Nordic Page