Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is calling on President Trump to condemn the use of a nerve agent he said Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to assassinate him with.
Navalny, who has been recovering at a hospital in Germany for weeks after suddenly becoming ill and collapsing during an Aug. 20 flight in Russia, is thought to have been poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok, German officials said.
The 44-year-old activist called on Trump to join other world leaders in condemning the use of the nerve agent during an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes that is set to air on Sunday. Novichok is also believed to have been used by Russian operatives to poison former Soviet double agent Sergei Skripal in 2018.
The European Union announced sanctions Thursday against six high-ranking Russian officials and one entity that it claimed were involved in Navalny’s poisoning. The sanctions came after fierce condemnation and pressure by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. The penalties include a travel ban to the EU and an asset freeze.
“All these leaders have signed on, except Donald Trump,” reporter Lesley Stahl said during an interview with Navalny from Berlin.
“I have noticed it,” he responded with a laugh.
Stahl then asked if it was important to Navalny that Trump join the others in condemning the use of the chemical weapon.
“I think it’s extremely important that everyone … first of all, president of United States, to be very against using chemical weapons in the 21st Century,” the anti-corruption crusader responded.
White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany was asked in September if Trump had reviewed the German assessment that Navalny was poisoned using the Russian nerve agent and if he agrees with the German findings. She said he had, and he does.
“The United States, as president of the G7, and joined by our G7 partners, has condemned in the strongest possible terms the confirmed poisoning,” she said.
“And a specialized German armed forces laboratory determined that Mr. Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent, a substance developed by Russia. And any use of chemical weapons — anywhere, anytime, by anyone, under any circumstance — is unacceptable,” she added.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment about Navalny’s 60 Minutes interview.
Navalny was also asked whether he thinks Putin was directly responsible for his poisoning.
“I don’t think. I’m sure that he is responsible,” he said.
Navalny has remained defiant against Putin during his recovery in Berlin. He has also vowed to return to Russia and continue his activism and battle against corruption. He said he has no fear of returning during a recent interview with Der Spiegel.
“Not going back would mean that Putin has won and achieved his goal, and my job now is to remain the guy who isn’t afraid,” Navalny said. “And I’m not afraid! When my hands shake, it’s not from fear — it’s from this stuff. I would not give Putin the gift of not returning to Russia.”
