Another round of sanctions? US threatens Russia with strong measures if Navalny is proven to have been poisoned

Washington has threatened the Kremlin with a tough response if it is discovered that Moscow protest leader Alexey Navalny was deliberately poisoned, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun explained that Washington would take measures against Moscow which would make sanctions related to the 2016 US presidential election “pale in comparison.”

Anti-corruption campaigner Navalny was taken to a hospital in Omsk last week after falling ill on a flight to Moscow. His associates immediately suggested that he had been poisoned, and demanded that he be flown to the European Union for treatment. Two days later, he landed in Germany and he is now being treated at Berlin’s Charite clinic, where doctors say he has cholinesterase inhibitors inside his system. Some have theorized that the Russian authorities may ultimately be responsible.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the accusations against Russia are “unfounded,” and the country supports a thorough and objective investigation to discover the truth. The ministry’s statement also called the allegations against the Omsk doctors “deeply offensive,” explaining that they “immediately provided highly qualified assistance.”

“Inevitably, the question arises – who benefits from this? Clearly, not the Russian leadership.”

On Monday, the US ambassador in Moscow, John Sullivan, asked Russia to conduct an “immediate, comprehensive, and transparent investigation” into the circumstances of Navalny’s condition.

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