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- Campaigner collapsed on flight from Siberia to Moscow and was eventually transferred for treatment to Germany where experts ruled he was poisoned with a Soviet-designed nerve agent
- Interior ministry鈥檚 Siberian branch said, doctors who treated Navalny before he was flown to Berlin confirmed their diagnosis of 鈥榙isruption of carbohydrate metabolism and chronic pancreatitis鈥�
MOSCOW: Russian officials said on Friday that metabolic problems and pancreatitis caused Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny to fall ill in August, ruling out findings by European labs that he was poisoned with Novichok.
In August, the 44-year-old anti-graft campaigner collapsed on a flight from Siberia to Moscow and was eventually transferred for treatment to Germany where experts ruled he was poisoned with the Soviet-designed nerve agent.
The interior ministry鈥檚 Siberian branch said doctors who treated Navalny for two days before he was flown to Berlin confirmed their diagnosis of 鈥渄isruption of carbohydrate metabolism and chronic pancreatitis.鈥�
鈥淭he diagnosis of 鈥榩oisoning鈥�... was not confirmed,鈥� it said in a statement.
The interior ministry added that no poisonous substances were found on Navalny鈥檚 clothes or on objects collected from his hotel or the airport cafe in the Siberian city of Tomsk where he was seen before the flight.
Navalny has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally responsible for the poisoning, while the Kremlin has rejected all allegations it could have been involved.
The head of Russia鈥檚 Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin also claimed Friday that NATO countries plotted to use a Russian opposition leader as a 鈥渟acred sacrifice鈥� to uphold the protest mood in the country.
Navalny said it was 鈥渇unny鈥� that both the interior ministry statement and Naryshkin鈥檚 interview with state television were released on the same day.
鈥淚t seems NATO countries convinced me to start a fatal diet,鈥� Navalny wrote on Twitter.
Navalny鈥檚 poisoning has put further strain on Russia鈥檚 already fragile relationship with Western Europe.
In October, EU sanctioned several senior Russian officials over the poisoning, saying the attack with Novichok could not have been carried out without the complicity of the FSB security service, the defense ministry and Putin鈥檚 office.
Separately, the Russian foreign ministry accused Germany of using 鈥渕ade up pretexts鈥� to avoid cooperating in investigating the incident. Moscow called on Berlin to 鈥渁bstain from further artificial politicization of the situation.鈥�
In a phone call with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday, Russia鈥檚 top diplomat Sergei Lavrov highlighted the 鈥渦nacceptability鈥� of Berlin 鈥渞efusing to fulfil its international legal commitments,鈥� the foreign ministry in Moscow said.
Also on Thursday, police raided the offices of Navalny鈥檚 Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in Moscow and removed equipment. The new raid was linked to a criminal case against Ivan Zhdanov, the foundation鈥檚 head, for failing to implement a court order.
A court in October last year ordered that Navalny, his associate Lyubov Sobol and the Anti-Corruption Foundation must jointly pay almost 88 million rubles ($1.1 million) to a catering firm linked to Kremlin associate Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Navalny has vowed to return to Russia after fully recovering in Germany.