Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny out of coma

 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny out of coma

 

Hospital says ‘it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning.’

 

By MERLIN SUGUE 9/7/20, 4:56 PM CET Updated 9/7/20, 6:13 PM CET

https://www.politico.eu/article/alexei-navalny-russian-opposition-leader-out-of-coma/

 

BERLIN — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is no longer in a medically-induced coma and is responsive, Berlin's Charité hospital said Monday.

 

However, although his health has improved, “it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning.”

 

Navalny was airlifted to Berlin on August 22 after what German Chancellor Angela Merkel called "attempted murder with a nerve agent." German specialists determined Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok, a Russia-developed nerve agent.

 

Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Monday it was “too early” to determine what the consequences of the poisoning would be. But he said the chancellor supports Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who told Bild that Germany could change its backing for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline over the incident.

 

“The chancellor also holds the view that it’s wrong to rule something out from the start,” Seibert said at a regular government news briefing in Berlin. That marks a shift for Merkel, who stated on August 28 that Nord Stream 2 should be completed and remain a separate issue from the Navalny case