In a statement of dubious credibility that will likely be cited by President Trump, the Kremlin has said that it sees no reason to investigate whether opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned because German laboratory tests were inconclusive, Reuters reports.
While German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Russia to open an investigation into the circumstances of Navalny’s poisoning at a Siberian airport or aboard a Russian airliner. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, has said that any investigation would be premature given the German hospital where Navalny is being treated did not definitely identify a toxin, questioning why German doctors were “rushing” to use the term poison.
As of Tuesday morning, the White House has yet to condemn the attack on Russia’s leading opposition leader. Trump has repeatedly supported the Kremlin’s denial of actions while US and foreign intelligence agencies have provided overwhelming evidence of Russian government involvement.