Putin claims he personally allowed to transport Navalny to Germany
Speaking at the Valdai forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he personally allowed to transport Alexei Navalny to Germany. In addition, Putin stressed that if the Russian authorities wanted to poison the politician, it is unlikely that such permission would have been given, TASS reports.
"Regarding the man you're talking about... in any case, if the authorities wanted to poison someone, they would hardly have sent him to Germany for treatment. Isn’t it so? As soon as this person's wife approached me, I immediately instructed the prosecutor's office to check the possibility of him going abroad for treatment. They could not have let him out because he had travel restrictions," the Russian President said.
He also recalled that the German government had not provided any evidence of poisoning Navalny with Novichok nerve agent so that we have official and legal grounds for initiating a criminal case. What is there so special that we asked for?" said Putin.
It is worth noting that earlier presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin was not involved in the decision on Navalny’s transportation to Germany. "No, it is absolutely not the prerogative of the president," the Kremlin spokesman said in August. At the time, Putin's spokesman stressed that it was an "absolutely medical decision that was related to the patient's health."