The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
French President Emmanuel Macron backed Angela Merkel’s demand that Russia clarify the poisoning of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, calling the attack an “assassination attempt†as two more European laboratories found traces of nerve agent Novichok.
The comments ratchet up tensions between the European Union and Russian President Vladimir Putin over accusations that Navalny was targeted with the weapons-grade substance.
As Navalny’s condition continues to improve in a Berlin hospital near Merkel’s chancellery, the German leader has pledged to coordinate a joint response directed at the Kremlin.
Macron spoke by phone with Putin, expressing his “deep concern about the criminal act carried out against Alexey Navalny,†according to a statement on Monday from the Elysee palace.