Alexei Navalny's condition improves, Russia still sees no ground for criminal case

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has made progress towards recovery in hospital in Germany. The Kremlin critic is being treated in Berlin`s Charite hospital after falling ill on a Russian domestic flight last month. Germany has said that Navalny, who is a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin was poisoned with Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.

Kremlin, meanwhile still sees no grounds to investigate this matter as a criminal case. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow still saw no grounds to open a criminal case into the illness of Navalny.

On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was quoted as saying that Putin had told him that a committee would be set up to look into the alleged poisoning.

Kremlin clarified that no such step had been taken.

Senior Kremlin official ordered poisoning: Pompeo

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo targetted Russia as he alleged on Wednesday that a senior official of Kremlin ordered the poisoning.

He said that there was a "substantial chance" that Navalny`s suspected poisoning had been ordered by senior Russian officials.

"I think people all around the world see this kind of activity for what it is," Pompeo said in a radio interview.

Russia called this allegation "unacceptable".

(With inputs from Reuters)