MOSCOW (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday rejected allegations that the Kremlin was behind the poisoning of its main political enemy, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and accused US intelligence agencies of fueling the claims, while hoping for better ties with Washington.
Putin also expressed hope that President-elect Joe Biden’s government would step in to renew the last remaining US-Russian arms control pact, which expires in early February.
The Russian leader, via video connection, during his annual marathon press conference that lasted 4 1/2 hours, contradicted the charges, saying that if the Kremlin had wanted to poison Navalny, it would have succeeded.
“If there had been such a desire, it would have happened,” Putin said with a chuckle.
Navalny fell ill on a domestic flight in Russia on August 20 and was flown in a coma to Berlin for treatment two days later. Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, showed that he was exposed to a Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent.
The Russian authorities have firmly denied any involvement in the poisoning.
On Monday, the research group Bellingcat and the Russian outlet The Insider released a report claiming that agents from the FSB, Russia’s internal security agency, which is a leading KGB successor, had followed Navalny on his travels since 2017, “specialized training in chemicals. had had weapons, chemistry and medicine, “and” were near the opposition activist during the days and hours of the period when he was poisoned. “
The investigation, also conducted in collaboration with CNN and Der Spiegel, identified the alleged FSB agents and laboratories working on poisons such as Novichok after analyzing phone metadata and flight information. It cited two cases in 2019 and 2020 in which Navalny or his wife Yulia suffered from unexplained symptoms.
Navalny said the investigation has proven beyond a doubt that FSB agents tried to kill him on Putin’s orders.
In his first comment since the report’s publication, Putin accused it of relying on data from US spy agencies. The authors have denied any association with US or other Western intelligence agencies.
“It’s not some kind of investigation, it’s just the legalization of materials provided by US special services,” he said, adding that it means Navalny “depends on the support of US special services.”
“It is curious, and in that case, special services must indeed keep an eye on him,” said Putin. ‘But that doesn’t mean it is necessary to poison him. Who needs that? “
The president reaffirmed a call for Germany and others to conduct a joint probe and share specific evidence of Navalny’s poisoning, including his biological samples.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Berlin that Russia has had ample opportunity to investigate the matter.
“In recent weeks and months we have seen so many smokescreens being lifted by Moscow in connection with the Navalny case,” he said. “I believe there have been a variety of possibilities to investigate the things that have happened in Russia in connection with the poisoning of Mr. Navalny there, or at least to start an investigation, but this has never been the case. and we have serious doubts about their willingness to meet their commitments. ”
Putin claimed that Navalny charged the Kremlin with orders to poison him in order to bolster his political profile. As before, Putin did not mention Navalny by name, calling him a ‘blogger’ and the ‘Berlin patient’.
Navalny said after the press conference that Putin effectively confirmed the investigative report proving that the FSB followed him for nearly four years. “Even Putin, who is the king of lies, cannot deny that the FSB agents followed me,” he said on YouTube. He reaffirmed his intention to return home from Germany to continue his fight against the Kremlin.
Even when Putin accused the US spy agencies, he kept the door open for cooperation with the incoming government. Putin congratulated Biden on his victory earlier this week.
“We assume that the newly elected US president would realize what’s going on. He has considerable experience in both domestic and foreign policy, and we hope that the problems that have arisen, at least some, will be resolved under the new administration, ”said Putin.
He noted that Russia remains ready to renew the last remaining US-Russian nuclear arms control pact, the New START, which is due to expire in early February. He added that the deal’s demise “would leave no restrictions on weapon systems.”
Putin stressed that Russia is ready to discuss its new hypersonic weapon system, including the Avangard glider, in future arms control talks with the United States. He accused Moscow of building Avangard and other new weapons to prevent the US-designed missile defense system from affecting Russia’s nuclear deterrent.
“We either had to develop our own missile defenses or create systems that are immune to missile defenses,” Putin said. “We’ve done it with hypersonic weapons, including Avangard.”
Russian officials say Avangard can fly 27 times faster than the speed of sound and make sharp maneuvers on his way to the target to evade the enemy’s missile shield.
Putin said Russia is also completing tests on another hypersonic missile, Zircon, designed for its warships and submarines.
The Russian leader added that the development of other weapon systems he announced in 2018, including the nuclear-powered cruise missile Burevestnik and the nuclear drone Poseidon, went according to plan.
Poseidon can unleash a nuclear explosion, causing a powerful tsunami.
Relations between Russia and the US have fallen to their lowest point in the post-Cold War era following Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014 and Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.
Putin has denied Russia’s interference in the 2016 vote to help Donald Trump win and earlier this month dismissed media reports claiming there would have been another attack by Russian hackers, blaming US authorities for the claims for domestic policy targets.
When asked if Russia would offer Trump political asylum and a job after he resigned, Putin replied that “Trump doesn’t need a job.”
“He has quite widespread support in the United States and as far as I understand he has no intention of leaving the country’s politics,” Putin said.
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Associated Press writer David Rising in Berlin contributed.