Kremlin denies involvement in suspected poisoning of opposition leader

MOSCOW - The Kremlin on Monday denied any involvement of Russian authorities in the suspected poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"Attempts to somehow associate Russia or the Russian leadership with what happened are unacceptable to us. They are absurd in essence," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a daily briefing.

According to Peskov, the Kremlin is waiting for information from Germany on the Navalny case.

"We hope that, given the resonance of this issue, information will be provided in the coming days. We are looking forward to it," Peskov said.

Navalny, a harsh critic of the Kremlin, felt unwell on the flight from the Russian city of Tomsk to Moscow on Aug. 20 and the plane had to make an emergency landing in the city of Omsk.

Navalny fell into a coma after being hospitalized in Omsk with suspected poisoning symptoms and was later transferred to Germany for treatment.

Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Navalny, who was in intensive care in a Berlin hospital, was poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent, the same type that was used in 2018 to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.