Navalny 'grateful' to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for visiting him at hospital

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on September 28 visited Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the Berlin hospital, where the latter is being treated after he was poisoned in Russia last month. Navalny took to his official Twitter handle to inform about the "private meeting" with Merkel. Navalny wrote that Merkel had a conversation with his family as well, adding that he is very "grateful" to the German Chancellor for visiting him at the hospital. 

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Navalny's poisoning

Alexei Navalny, a staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, fell sick under mysterious circumstances on a flight back to Moscow from Siberia on August 20. He was rushed to a hospital in the Siberian city of Omsk after the plane made an emergency landing. Navalny was put into an artificial coma and was moved to Germany after much debate over his transfer. Navalny had remained in an induced coma until September 7 when doctors treating him informed that his condition has improved. 

Read: Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Says Traces Of Novichok Found 'in And On' His Body

German doctors confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with the lethal chemical agent Novichok and that traces of the former Soviet-era chemical weapon was found in his blood. A few days ago, Navalny's team had said that the politician was poisoned at his hotel room before leaving for the airport and not at the terminal as suspected earlier. They said that Navaly was possibly poisoned through drinking water as traces of Novichok have been found on the water bottles from the hotel room. 

Read: Navalny Chief Of Staff On Opposition Leader's Recovery

Russia has dismissed all allegations of a state-sponsored attack on Navalny and has demanded more evidence of the alleged poisoning in order to start an investigation in the country. However, the international community strongly believes that Kremlin may be behind the poisoning of the 44-year-old leader. 

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