February 15, 2026

Rubio: The US has 'no reason to doubt' Europe's conclusion that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a chemical weapon

The US has 'no reason to doubt' European countries' conclusion about what Alexei Navalny was poisoned with. This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a press conference in Bratislava, Reuters reports. 'We are certainly aware of the report. It is a disturbing report. We are aware of Mr. Navalny's case and of course we have no reason to doubt the veracity of [the report],' the politician said. When asked why the US did not join the statement, Rubio replied that it was an initiative of Washington's allies. 'These countries came to this conclusion. They coordinated their actions. This does not mean that we disagree with the result. It just wasn't our initiative. Sometimes countries act independently, based on the intelligence they have gathered,' he added. The day before, Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands issued a joint statement announcing that Alexei Navalny had been poisoned with epibatidine, a highly toxic poison extracted from the skin of a South American frog. Laboratories in these countries were able to analyze the politician's biomaterials, which were brought out of the Russian Federation after his murder. Journalists noted that the synthesis of the substance used to kill Navalny was carried out by scientists from the same State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GOSNIIOKHT) where the Novichok nerve agent was developed. One of the poison researchers is Vladimir Kondratyev, former deputy chief of chemical forces for research and armaments. He also headed GOSNIIOKHT for several decades, Novaya Yevropa found.