Ready to cooperate with Germany on Navalny’s case 24 hours per day: Russia

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday that Moscow is open for a dialogue with Berlin regarding the situation around Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny 24 hours a day.

"We are ready to interact with the German side 24 hours a day. I would like to remind you that when Russian ambassador [Sergey Nechaev] was at the German Foreign Ministry, he asked if there was any specific data that the Russian side can get familiar with to advance the investigation [into Navalny case], but nothing was transferred to him. The situation remains the same today," Zakharova told the Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"What do we see? There is still no response. Moreover, it turned out that the request was forwarded to the Berlin Justice Department, responsible for considering legal issues, only on Friday … If efficiency is important for Berlin, then, first of all, the German side should show efficiency," Zakharova said.

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According to the spokeswoman, Moscow has repeatedly urged Berlin to promptly respond to all Russia’s requests regarding the situation with the Russian opposition politician.

The Russian government has been widely condemned after Germany confirmed on Wednesday that Mr Navalny had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.

Meanwhile, British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday said that Russia must explain how Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with what Germany says was the Novichok nerve agent.

“What is clear right now is that the Russian government has a very serious set of questions to answer,” he told Sky News.

Whether the incident involved a state actor or not, Russia had obligations to make sure that chemical weapons cannot be used on its soil, Raab said.

(With inputs from agencies)