The attempted murder of Russian opposition politician Alexi Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok is "disturbing" and against European values, Italy's foreign undersecretary Ivan Scalfarotto said on Thursday.
"The now ascertained news of Alexey Navalny's poisoning raises enormous concern. Europe bases its very identity on fundamental values such as democracy, pluralism, freedom of thought and expression, and the intangibility of human life," Scalfarotto said in a statement.
Scalfarotto called on the Russian government to bring Navany's would-be assassins to justice.
"I hope that the Russian Federation will carry out all necessary investigations to identify the culprits and clarify what happened as soon as possible, in a spirit of absolute transparency and cooperation with the international community," the statement added.
A top ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the European Union risks becoming irrelevant if it fails to act against Russia over Navalny's poisoning.
Norbert Roettgen said a major gas deal with Russia must now be reconsidered.
A team of German specialists said it found "unequivocal proof" that a Novichok nerve agent was used on Navalny. He was flown to the German capital after collapsing in pain on a flight in Siberia on 20 August and remains gravely ill in intensive care in a Berlin hospital.
.jpg)
