France regrets Russia's lack of 'transparency' over Navalny poisoning case
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"If they wanted to take the initiative with transparency, it would be to their credit," the top diplomat underlined.
France on Friday said that it regretted Russia's lack of "transparency" in the case of suspected poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is in a medically-induced coma in a Berlin hospital.
Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio: "I do not understand why Russia does not play the game of transparency. It is in its own interest, and we are saying so."
"If they wanted to take the initiative with transparency, it would be to their credit," the top diplomat underlined.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin rejected international calls for an investigation into the Navalny's alleged poisoning. They stated that medics had not identified any toxin. Russia's foreign ministry said there was "suspicious haste" to determine Navalny was poisoned while stating that it was "deeply offensive" to the Russian doctors who treated the Opposition leader.
Le Drian called for a "transparent" investigation "and when the culprits are found, to put them on trial, so that the lesson can be learnt because this is not the first time there is a poisoning" of an opposition figure in Russia.
Navalny was suspected to have been poisoned in Russia. He was airlifted to Berlin's Charite hospital from a Siberian hospital on Saturday. The Russian Opposition leader had reportedly had a cup of tea before boarding his flight which his supporters alleged was mixed with poison.