Yesterday 10 September, at an open UN Security Council debate on chemical weapons, Estonia condemned the attack on Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with the Novichok nerve agent.
According to Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu, the use of chemical weapons must bring serious consequences. “Those responsible for the attack must be punished. An independent international investigation with experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is crucial,” Reinsalu said, calling on Russia to cooperate.
In its national statement, Estonia referred to the 2018 Skripal case, which was also discussed at the UN Security Council. “Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, has been used against people whom Russia perceives as adversaries,” Estonia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Sven Jürgenson said.
At the meeting, other member states also condemned the attack on Navalny.
At the Security Council debate, which focused on the implementation of resolution 2118 (2013) on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Estonia also criticised Russia’s repeated attempts to question the competence of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Independent investigations have found evidence about seven instances where the Syrian regime was responsible for using chemical weapons against the people.
Estonia’s statement in full: https://un.mfa.ee/statement-by-ambassador-s-jurgenson-at-un-security-council-vtc-meeting-on-syria-chemical-weapons/