Russian opposition figure Navalny confirms Merkel visited him in Berlin hospital
Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny has confirmed media reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited him in hospital during his treatment there.
He tweeted on Monday that the Chancellor had privately met with him.
Navalny, 44, took ill on a domestic Russian flight on August 20. He was later transported to the German capital, Berlin, where he received medical treatment.
He was discharged from inpatient care at Charite Hospital in Berlin last Tuesday, after 32 days of treatment, 24 of which were spent in intensive care, the hospital announced last week.
German magazine Der Spiegel was the first news outlet to report Merkel's visit.
Der Spiegel labeled Merkel's visit to the hospital as "secret." But Navalny disagreed, writing in his tweet that "there was a meeting, but you should not call it 'secret.'"
"Rather, it was a private meeting and a conversation with the family. I am very grateful to Chancellor Merkel for visiting me at the hospital," he said.
Later on Monday, Merkel's spokesman confirmed reports of the chancellor having paid a personal visit to Navalny in hospital last week.
Steffen Seibert declined to say how long the meeting had lasted or what had been discussed.
Germany claimed the Russian opposition figure had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent before his evacuation to Berlin. But the Russian doctors who tested his blood for poisoning before he was moved to Germany said the tests were negative.
Western governments, however, have been insinuating that Russia was behind the alleged poisoning. The United States has threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia.
Russia has strongly denied all such accusations.
The Russian government has denied any involvement in any attack on Navalny, and has accused the United Sates of using the case as a pretext to hinder the construction of a Russian gas pipeline project to Europe known as Nord Stream 2.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call on Wednesday that Russia was pleased to see that Navalny was making a recovery and had been discharged from hospital, adding he was free to return to the country like any other citizen.
Putin: Russia to increase drone production tenfold this year
Russia’s president approves proposal for signing strategic partnership agreement with Iran
Russia: Pager blasts against Hezbollah meant to ‘provoke major war’
Leader pardons, commutes sentences of about 3,000 Iranian convicts
Dead bodies desecrated as Israeli forces step up carnage in West Bank
Probe finds devices ‘booby-trapped’ before entering Lebanon
Sept. 19: ‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation
‘Skin diseases threaten lives of Palestinians held in Israel's Ofer prison’
'Heinous crime': Israeli forces throw Palestinians’ bodies off building in Jenin
Yemen prepared for long war with Israel, says defense minister
VIDEO | Historic UN vote demands Israel quit Occupied Territories in one year
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
