Russian officials on Friday ruled out the use of Novichok,
a rare nerve agent, as the cause of poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny,
blaming it on metabolic problems and pancreatitis.

A Russian activist and Putin critic, Navalny fell ill on
August 20 during a flight while coming back from Siberia to Moscow.

He was taken to Germany for treatment, where the German
authorities confirmed presence of Novichok in his body – a chemical that, it said, cannot be used without the sanction of the FSB, the defence ministry and
Putin’s executive office.

The interior ministry’s Siberian branch said doctors who
treated Navalny for two days before he was flown to Berlin confirmed their
diagnosis of “disruption of carbohydrate metabolism and chronic
pancreatitis”.

“The diagnosis of ‘poisoning’… was not
confirmed,” it said in a statement.

The local branch of the interior ministry added that no
poisonous substances were found on Navalny’s clothes or on objects collected
from his hotel or the airport cafe in Siberia here he was seen before the
flight.

According to German authorities, the presence of Novichok
was corroborated by labs in Sweden and France.

As a consequence of poisoning of the 44-year-old with a
chemical agent, the EU clamped sanctions on several Russian officials last
month.

 The sanctions
proscribed six Russian officials from entering EU territory and allowed the European
Council to seize any assets of these officials that fell in its jurisdiction.  

Navalny has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin
was personally responsible for the poisoning, while the Kremlin has rejected
all allegations it could have been involved.

On Thursday, police raided the office of Navalny’s
Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) in Moscow, removing equipment and charging one
of his aides Ivan Zhdanov with contempt of court.

Navalny has vowed to return to Russia after fully recovering
in Germany.