NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday condemned the "shocking" use of a Novichok nerve agent to poison Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and demanded a proper investigation by Moscow.

"The German government has announced that Alexei Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group. This is shocking, and I utterly condemn it," Stoltenberg said in a statement.

Berlin said that tests by its armed forces' chemical weapons laboratory found "unequivocal evidence" Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, the Soviet nerve agent also used to target a former spy in Britain in 2018.

"The use of a military-grade nerve agent makes it even more urgent that the Russian authorities conduct a full and transparent investigation," Stoltenberg said, insisting those responsible must be held accountable.

"We will be consulting with Germany and all Allies on the implications of these findings. NATO regards any use of chemical weapons as a threat to international peace and security."

The 2018 Novichok poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English town of Salisbury sent already tense NATO ties with Russia into the deep freeze.

Related Links
Democracy in the 21st century at TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Trump losing military support in election: poll
Washington (AFP) Aug 31, 2020
Just 37.4 percent of active personnel in the US military support President Donald Trump's re-election, while 43.1 percent back his Democratic opponent Joe Biden, according to a new poll Monday. The poll by the Military Times and the Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families found that half of servicemen and women have an unfavorable view of Trump, and 42 percent strongly disapprove of him, compared to 38 percent with a favorable view of the Republican leader. Support for ... read more