Russia wants to remove military poisons from the list of banned substances
The Russian Defense Ministry has proposed to exclude combat poisons from the list of products, free sale of which is prohibited in Russia. The document with changes to the 1992 decree of the Russian President was published on the Kremlin’s website.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, all chemical weapons stored in Russia have been destroyed. In addition, Russia cannot develop and produce chemical weapons, as in 1997 it joined the UN Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Thus, the presence of military poisonous substances in the list of those prohibited for sale does not make sense, the Russian Defense Ministry stresses in an explanatory note.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks, such substances have once again found themselves in the spotlight due to the high-profile poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The politician became ill on August 20 on board the plane flying from Tomsk to Moscow. The airliner made an emergency landing in Omsk, where Navalny was hospitalized. On August 22, at the request of Navalny's relatives, he was taken to the Charite hospital in Berlin for treatment. The politician was in an induced coma for 19 days.
At the request of the hospital, experts of the special laboratory of the German armed forces conducted a toxicological analysis of samples taken from Navalny and found in them traces of the combat nerve agent from the Novichok group. The German government stressed that there is no doubt about conclusions of the Bundeswehr specialists. Moscow denies all accusations of involvement in the assassination attempt on the Russian opposition leader.