Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who Germany says was poisoned by a weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent, is now out of a medically induced coma and reacting to speech, the Berlin hospital treating him said late on Monday.
The 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner and one of President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critics, fell ill on a domestic flight last month and was treated in a Siberian hospital before being evacuated to Berlin.
Mr Navalny's associates say the use of Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, shows that only the Russian state could be responsible, but the Kremlin fiercely denies any involvement. But Germany warned that the failure by Moscow to thoroughly investigate the incident could have serious consequences.Pipeline in crosshairs
He did not rule out action relating to Nord Stream 2, a multi-billion-euro Russian-German gas pipeline nearing completion. She too would not rule out consequences for Nord Stream 2 - a 10 billion euro pipeline beneath the Baltic Sea that is set to double Russian natural gas shipments to Germany, Europe's largest economy.
"It's completely unacceptable that a banned chemical weapon has been used and Russia must hold a full, transparent investigation," wrote British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Twitter.
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