Russia Denies Blame for Navalny Poisoning, Rebuffs Western Calls for Probe

MOSCOW—The Kremlin reported it had no involvement in the unexpected sickness of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny and questioned the assertion by German physicians that he was poisoned, pushing back from needs from Western leaders for an inquiry into the most current suspected attack from a critic of President Vladimir Putin.

The precise instances bordering the sickness of Mr. Navalny, who remains in a coma in a Berlin medical center, are a secret. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists Tuesday that tips that Mr. Putin played a position in harming the dissident had been baseless, responding to allegations from some of Mr. Navalny’s allies and a further opposition leader, Ilya Yashin, that the Kremlin was to blame.

“These accusations, that can in no way be real, are just vacant sound,” Mr. Peskov reported.

Mr. Navalny, a outstanding opposition activist who has amassed a following numbering thousands and thousands throughout Russia, fell unwell on a flight previous week. He was place on a ventilator at a medical center in Siberia just before getting transferred to Germany, the place physicians established on Monday that he had been poisoned with a nerve agent.

Mr. Peskov rebuffed calls from Western leaders for an speedy investigation into Mr. Navalny’s illness, citing the want for additional evidence of foul enjoy.