U. S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called a report by five European allies “troubling,” which stated that Russia was responsible for the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny using a toxin from poison dart frogs.
Rubio said the U. S. had no reason to question the findings during a news conference in Slovakia. The countries—Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands—reported that tests on Navalny’s body showed the presence of epibatidine, a toxin not found in Russia.
The Russian government denied responsibility for Navalny’s death, calling the allegations a “Western propaganda hoax. ” When asked why the U. S. did not join in the statement, Rubio explained it was the European countries’ conclusion based on their intelligence, and the U. S. chose not to engage in it. Navalny died in February 2024 in prison after being convicted of extremism.
With information from Reuters
