Alexei Navalny: Siberian doctors say they saved politician’s life amid poisoning speculation as Germany says ‘many facts are missing’

Officials claim they could not find traces of poison in politician's system

Doctors at the Siberian hospital which first treated Alexei Navalny have said they saved the Russian opposition politician’s life following criticism of their work in the case.

Officials at the hospital said they had not found traces of poison in Mr Navalny’s system as German chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said on Monday the politician had likely been poisoned.

Mr Navalny, a long-time opponent of Russian president Vladimir Putin, fell gravely ill on Thursday after what his allies believe was a poisoning and was airlifted to Germany for treatment on Saturday.

“We saved his life with great effort and work,” Alexander Murakhovsky, the Siberian hospital’s head doctor, told reporters at a news conference on Monday.

Anatoly Kalinichenko, a senior doctor at the hospital, added: “If we had found some kind of poison that was somehow confirmed then it would have been a lot easier for us.

“It would have been a clear diagnosis, a clear condition and a well-known course of treatment.”

The Russian doctors did not say what specifically they had done to save Mr Navalny’s life or what they had treated him for.

Last week, they said he had been diagnosed with a metabolic disease possibly brought on by low blood sugar.

The doctors also denied they had come under pressure from authorities while treating the politician after his allies accused them of holding up his evacuation to Germany.

It was initially claimed that Mr Navalny was not in a fit state to be transported to the country for treatment.

Steffen Seibert, Angela Merkel’s spokesman told reporters on Monday the politician had likely been poisoned and was now under guard in hospital.

“It was obvious that after his arrival, protective precautions had to be taken,” her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters. “After all, this is a patient who, with a certain degree of probability, was poisoned.”

He wouldn't comment on Navalny's condition, but earlier in the day, Dirk Wiese, the German government's coordinator for Eastern European affairs, told public broadcaster ZDF he was “currently critical, but stable.”

“He is now receiving the best possible treatment,” Mr Wiese said.

dditional reporting by Reuters