
Russia's foreign minister criticized Germany on Wednesday over its handling of official requests by Moscow about the condition of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Navalny, an opponent of President Vladimir Putin, is being treated in a Berlin hospital where he was taken after falling ill on a Russian domestic flight.
Germany says he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. Russia has said it has seen no evidence he was poisoned.
"We have gathered a lot of questions for our German colleagues on the completely inappropriate attitude towards official requests we send to Berlin," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a news conference.
Germany's ambassador to Moscow was due to visit the foreign ministry later on Wednesday.
Lavrov added that Russia was dissatisfied with the "absolutely unacceptable tone" in which he said Germany was communicating its position to the global community.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday Russia needs to see the analysis that indicates Navalny was poisoned before it can open an investigation.
Also see:The curious case of Russian Kremlin critics who were allegedly poisoned
A spokesman for GermanChancellor Angela Merkel on Monday said the countrywill not rule out consequences for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project if Russia fails to thoroughly investigate the incident.
Asked whether Merkel would protect the multi-billion-euro pipeline from Russia to Europe if Germany were to seek sanctions over the Navalny case, spokesman Steffen Seibert said: "The chancellor believes it would be wrong to rule anything out from the start."
Nord Stream 2, an $11-billionpipeline near completion beneath the Baltic Sea, is set to double Russian natural-gas shipments to Germany, Europe's largest economy.
It has long been in the crosshairs of the United States, which has criticised European countries for their reliance on energy from Russia.