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Paris, France:
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to urgently make clear the “attempted murder” of opposition determine Alexei Navalny, after French exams confirmed using the Novichok nerve agent, the Elysee mentioned.
Macron informed Putin in phone talks that it’s “imperative that all light be shed, without delay, on the circumstances of this attempted murder and who is responsible,” the French presidency mentioned in a press release.
He additionally knowledgeable Putin that France’s personal evaluation had confirmed Germany’s conclusion that Navalny was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent “in contravention of international norms on using chemical weapons.”
The German authorities had mentioned earlier that laboratories in France and Sweden confirmed its personal findings that Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.
Macron has over the past yr pursued a coverage of rapprochement with Russia, looking for progress notably on ending the battle in Ukraine, a method that has raised eyebrows amongst a few of France’s EU allies.
But analysts say the poisoning of Navalny — who remains to be being handled in Germany after falling in poor health final month on a flight in Siberia — has dealt a heavy blow to Moscow-Paris ties.
France has from the onset of the disaster backed the robust language of its ally Germany, which has warned that suspicion for the poisoning will fall on the Russian state if Moscow fails to elucidate what occurred.
According to the Elysee, Macron on Monday “expressed his full solidarity with Germany over the steps to be taken and the consequences to be drawn from the situation.”
“Clarification is required from Russia as part of a credible and transparent investigation,” he added.
With Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Russia on Monday for the primary time since protests erupted over his disputed election victory final month, Macron and Putin additionally mentioned the state of affairs in Russia’s smaller neighbour.
Macron informed Putin, who was to fulfill Lukashenko within the southern Russian resort of Sochi, that international meddling was not welcome within the disaster.
“He (Macron) reaffirmed the need to support a political solution that respects the deep aspirations of the Belarusian people, without outside interference,” the Elysee mentioned.
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