Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has confirmed he believes Vladimir Putin was behind his suspected poisoning – but has vowed to return home and continue his opposition to the Russian president.
Navalny was flown from Russia to Berlin in August after falling ill on a domestic flight. He received treatment in the Charité hospital for what Germany said was poisoning by the potentially deadly nerve agent Novichok, before being discharged in September.
"I believe that Putin is behind the crime and I don't have any other versions of what happened," Navalny told German magazine Der Spiegel in his first media interview since recovering.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny sits on a bench in Berlin, where he is recovering from a poisoning he says was ordered by President Vladimir Putin. /AFP/Handout/Instagram account @navalny
The 44-year-old collapsed on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow following a campaign trip to support opposition candidates in local elections. He was flown to Berlin in a coma and received 32 days of treatment at Charité, including 24 days in intensive care.
"You don't feel any pain but you know you're dying," Navalny said of the moment the nerve agent began to take effect on him.
Navalny's aides have said Novichok traces were discovered on a bottle of water he drank in his hotel room before taking the flight from Tomsk. The campaigner claims that as only the leaders of Russia's secret services can make the call to deploy the poison, this implicates Putin.
Berlin-Moscow discord
While in hospital, Navalny was visited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the case has heightened tensions between her country and Putin's.
Germany has announced that toxicology tests confirm Navalny was poisoned by Novichok, findings that have since been independently corroborated by France and Sweden.
The water bottle appears to have been key evidence for Germany's conclusion that Navalny was poisoned with the deadly nerve agent. Novichok was also used to poison the former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England, in 2018.
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The Kremlin has firmly denied allegations of involvement and accused Western leaders of launching a disinformation campaign over Navalny's illness. Instead, it pointed to tests carried out by Russian doctors who first treated Navalny showing no toxic substances.
On Thursday, the head of Russia's lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, retorted that Putin had "saved" Navalny's life. He also accused the opposition leader of "working with the security services and authorities of Western countries."
Merkel had always insisted on maintaining dialogue with Moscow but she has sharpened her tone lately, with Navalny's case coming a year after a murder in a central Berlin park that German prosecutors say was ordered by Russia.
Merkel has stressed repeatedly that "only Russia can and must answer" questions on the case and the German government has warned Moscow of possible sanctions if it failed to thoroughly investigate it.
Germany currently holds the presidency of the EU and Navalny's first comments to the press came as European leaders were holding a summit during which the question of a response to Russia may be raised over his case.
Navalny vows to continue
Despite believing he was poisoned, Navalny is determined to return to his country and continue his campaigns. "Not returning would mean that Putin has achieved his aim. And my job now is to stay the guy who's not afraid," he said. "If my hands are shaking, it's because of the poison, not out of fear. "
Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya on a balcony at Berlin's Charite hospital, where Navalny spent 32 days, including 24 in intensive care. /AFP/Handout/Instagram account @navalny
Navalny said he would only resume posting to his popular online video channel once he was back in Russia: "I do not want to be the opposition leader in exile." He is currently living in a rented flat in Berlin with his wife and son as he undergoes extensive rehabilitation.
"I take walks in the park in the morning, that's my task, then I do some exercises with my doctor, then in the evenings I walk again," he said, confirming that he was making a steady recovery. He is relearning how to balance on one leg and has begun juggling exercises "to improve coordination, so that the hands will move in the same direction as the eyes."
Navalny wouldn't say what he thinks the German chancellor should do next. "My impression is that Merkel needs no advice from me," he said. But he warned that "any Russia strategy must account for the depth of madness that Putin has now reached," adding that the times were past when "Putin would not risk a conflict with Berlin."