Statement delivered by H.E. Ambassador Marjolijn van Deelen, Special Envoy for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.
Mr Chairperson,
I have asked to take the floor on behalf of the European Union (EU).
The European Union reiterates its strong concerns that the Russian Federation has not reacted to international calls to thoroughly and transparently investigate the assassination attempt on Mr Alexei Navalny who was poisoned in Russia by a chemical nerve agent of the “Novichok” group in August 2020. The poisoning has been confirmed, without doubt, by specialised laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden, as well as by the OPCW.
Furthermore, the European Union was disconcerted by the withdrawal on 16 December 2020 of Russia’s request for a Technical Assistance Visit despite the readiness of the OPCW Technical Secretariat to deploy its experts in order to help clarify the case.
The European Union once again urges the Russian Federation to disclose and credibly explain the circumstances of the assassination attempt in full transparency and without further delay, in accordance with the obligations defined in Article VII of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which urges all States Parties not to permit in any place under its control any activity prohibited by the Convention.
Impunity for the use of chemical weapons must not and will not be tolerated. Those responsible for the assassination attempt on Mr Navalny must be brought to justice. On 14 October 2020 under its Chemical Weapons Sanctions Regime, the European Union imposed restrictive measures against six Russian individuals and one entity responsible for inducing and providing support to the poisoning of Alexei Navalny with the Novichok nerve agent.
I would kindly ask you to consider this statement as an official document and post it on the OPCW External Server and public website.