Poisoning of Navalny discussed in Foreign, Security policy meeting

The president and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy on Friday discussed a number of issues, including the incident of poisoning Russian opposition political leader Alexei Navalny, said an official press release.

The meeting addressed issues related to Russia. The topics on the agenda were the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, relations between the EU and Russia, as well as bilateral issues between Finland and Russia.

The committee discussed the Government Report on Finnish Foreign and Security Policy. The report is due to be completed in the next few weeks.

In addition, the president and the committee held a preparatory discussion on the priorities of civilian and military intelligence for 2021, the press release added.

Navalny collapsed on a flight in Siberia in August after he was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.

On 21 August, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö held separate telephone conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discussed the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the question of organising his healthcare.

After one day, Navalny's medical evacuation flight - paid for by the German non-governmental organisation ‘Cinema for Peace’ landed at Tegel Airport in Berlin.

On 23 September, Navalny was discharged from hospital where he was being treated for Novichok nerve agent poisoning