Berlin's Charite hospital, where Navalny was treated after arriving in GermanyJohn MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images

Trump on Alexei Navalny poisoning: ‘We haven’t had any proof yet’

US president reluctant to join international condemnation of Russia over poisoning of Putin critic.

by · POLITICO

U.S. President Donald Trump declined to join other world leaders in condemning Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"I don't know exactly what happened," Trump said at a press conference Friday, when asked about the assessment that the outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin had been attacked with a nerve agent. "I think it's sad, it's tragic, it's terrible, it shouldn't happen."

“We haven't had any proof yet, but I will take a look,” Trump added.

Anti-corruption activist Navalny is being treated at a Berlin hospital after becoming sick on a flight to Moscow from Siberia last month. Earlier this week, German authorities said tests had shown “unequivocal evidence” that the 44-year-old, who is in an induced coma, had been poisoned with a Soviet-era poison.

Trump told reporters Friday that the U.S. did not have any reason to question the German government findings but also said that he had not been provided with sufficient evidence to confirm the assessment.

“We have not seen it ourselves,” Trump said.

Trump's public reluctance to condemn the poisoning stands in stark contrast with the reaction of other world leaders.

Earlier on Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the incident an "appalling assassination attempt" and demanded that Russia explain how Navalny was poisoned by the military-grade chemical nerve agent, warning of an unspecified "international response" to the assassination attempt.