MUNICH, Feb 15: The UK has called for action against Russia following the disclosure
of evidence that political prisoner Alexei Navalny was killed using frog poison.
Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper, attending the Munich Security Conference,
told the BBC on Sunday that "we do want to see action" taken, which could include
continuing coordinated sanctions on Russia.
"A group of European ministers has now reported this to the Organisation for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for them to pursue because we see this as
a clear breach of the chemical weapons international rules and convention so
we do want to see action there, holding some accountability," the BBC quoted
her.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the findings "troubling"
and stated the US has no reason to question the European report.
The tests carried out by five European countries—UK, France, Germany, Sweden,
the Netherlands—using samples from his body smuggled out of the prison showed
the poison that killed Navalny was developed from the toxin found in Ecuadorian
dart frogs.
"Navalny's poisoning must have consequences," German Foreign Minister Johann
Wadephul told the Munich Conference.
Cooper told the conference earlier, "Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using
this form of poison, the Russian State demonstrated the despicable tools it
has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition."
The UK, France, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands affirmed the analysis of
samples from Navalny conclusively proves a State-ordered killing, their foreign
ministries said in a statement issued on Saturday.
"Only the Russian state had the combined means, motive and disregard for international
law," to carry out the killing, the statement said.
Russia's rebuttal
However, "Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. His death was
announced just as the Munich Security Conference in 2024 began.
Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: "All the talks and statements are
an information campaign aimed at distracting attention from the West's pressing
problems."
Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya told the Conference that his murder is now
a "science-proven fact". She has demanded that Putin be held personally responsible.
Navalnaya said: "I was certain from the first day that my husband had been
poisoned, but now there is proof. I am grateful to the European states for the
meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth."
According to Moscow's version, Navalny took a short walk at his Siberian penal
colony, felt unwell, then collapsed and never regained consciousness.
The 47-year-old had been in jail for three years and was transferred to the
penal colony a while before the death.
A pattern of poisonings by Moscow
Navalny’s death fits into a broader pattern of suspected Kremlin-linked poisonings.
In 2020, Navalny survived an assassination attempt involving nerve agent Novichok,
a Soviet-era method, after collapsing on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. He was
evacuated to Germany, where doctors confirmed the use of the banned chemical
weapon. That incident drew global condemnation and sanctions against Russian
officials.
Other critics of President Vladimir Putin have met similar fates. Former spy
Alexander Litvinenko was killed in London in 2006 with radioactive polonium-210,
while ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with Novichok
in Salisbury in 2018. These pont to a systematic campaign to silence dissent.
Navalny’s death, now conclusively linked to one of the deadliest natural toxins
known, underscores the peril faced by those who challenge Putin’s authority.
What is Epibatidine?
It is a neurotoxin found in the skin of South American
dart frogs. A toxic natural alkaloid, it is 200 times more potent than morphine
and is not naturally occurring in Russia. It was first isolated from the skin
of the Ecuadorian poison frog, Epipedobates Tricolor (Also called the phantasmal
poison frog or phantasmal poison-arrow frog). It has some medical applications
in central nervous system disorders. The chemical can also be synthesized in
laboratory. Epibatidine does not interact with opioid receptors. Instead, it
acts as an agonist for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the central
and peripheral nervous systems. It causes paralysis, severe breathing difficulties
and seizures. The victims suffocate in agony as cardiac and respiratory muscles
fail.
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