{"id":12303,"date":"2026-02-15T18:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12303"},"modified":"2026-02-15T18:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:07:16","slug":"us-not-disputing-european-assessment-of-navalny-poisoning-rubio-says-human-rights-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12303","title":{"rendered":"US \u2018not disputing\u2019 European assessment of Navalny poisoning, Rubio says | Human Rights News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The secretary of state says Washington will not fight European partners on their findings as the UK considers new sanctions.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 15 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">15 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The United States says it is not disputing European findings that Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was poisoned with a rare frog toxin as the United Kingdom signals possible new sanctions against Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a visit to Slovakia on Sunday, called the European report \u201cvery troubling\u201d and \u201cvery serious\u201d.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden on Saturday accused the Russian state of killing Navalny two years ago in a Siberian penal colony.<\/p>\n<p>In a joint statement, the five countries said laboratory analysis of samples from his body found epibatidine, a toxin associated with South American dart frogs, and argued there was no innocent explanation for its presence.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement, made almost exactly two years after Navalny\u2019s death in February 2024, increases pressure on the Kremlin and raises the prospect of further coordinated Western action.<\/p>\n<p>While Washington did not join the European statement, Rubio said the decision did not signal its disagreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have any reason to question it,\u201d Rubio said, adding that the US was not seeking \u201ca fight\u201d with its European partners over the findings.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"uk-threatens-further-sanctions\">UK threatens further sanctions<\/h2>\n<p>The UK warned that it was considering imposing further sanctions on Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that the government would \u201ccontinue to look at coordinated action, including increasing sanctions on the Russian regime\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that it is the partnerships that we build abroad that make us stronger at home. It is by acting alongside our European allies, alongside allies across the world, that we do maintain that pressure on the Russian regime,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The five European nations said epibatidine is not found naturally in Russia and Moscow had the means, motive and opportunity to administer the toxin while Navalny was imprisoned.<\/p>\n<p>They said the findings underlined the need to hold Russia accountable under international conventions banning chemical and biological weapons.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4316321\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4316321\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4316321\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ap_6991ea9289aa8-1771170450.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2019, file photo, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to the media prior to a court session in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo\/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4316321\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alexey Navalny speaks to the media before a court session in Moscow in April 2019 [File: Alexander Zemlianichenko\/AP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Russia has denied any involvement. The Russian embassy in London dismissed the accusations as propaganda and questioned the credibility of Western experts.<\/p>\n<p>Moscow has previously said Navalny died of natural causes and has not publicly detailed the circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>Navalny, President Vladimir Putin\u2019s most prominent domestic critic, died while serving a 19-year sentence on \u201cextremism\u201d and other charges he rejected as politically motivated.<\/p>\n<p>His death prompted protests and memorials across European capitals and intensified Western scrutiny of Russia\u2019s human rights record.<\/p>\n<p>Any new sanctions would add to sweeping measures imposed on Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine four years ago, further straining relations between Moscow and Western governments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The secretary of state says Washington will not fight European partners on their findings as the UK considers new sanctions. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 15 Feb 202615 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The United States says it is not disputing European findings that Russian opposition [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12304,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}