Putin with a smile: If I wanted to, Navalny would be dead

“If I wanted to, he would be dead,” Russian President Putin said with a smile, when asked about the reports that the Kremlin was involved in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denies reports that Russia attempted to assassinate opposition leader Alexei Navalny, dismissing allegations that the Kremlin was involved in the poisoning of the opposition leader. “If I wanted to, he would be dead.”

During a videotaped press conference, President Putin mocked reports that the Kremlin was involved in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying that if he had wanted him to die ‘it would have been done’. The Russian president has also blamed the US intelligence agencies for what he says are charges against Russia.

His remarks came days after German sources claimed that Russia had tried to assassinate Navalny using Novichuk nerve gas, a second time after surviving the first attack last August.

“If there was such a desire, it would have been done,” Putin said as he giggled at Navalny’s alleged poisoning.

Nabalani fell ill on August 20 during a domestic flight in Russia and was flown in a coma to Germany for treatment, two days later due to a deterioration in his medical condition.

Laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden conducted tests of chemical weapons, and determined that it was exposed to the Novichuk nerve gas developed during the Soviet era.

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