BREAKING NEWS

Russia denies promising to set up commission to investigate Navalny case

The Kremlin said on Thursday it was possible there had been a misunderstanding after Italy's prime minister said that President Vladimir Putin had promised to set up a commission to investigate the case of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow still saw no grounds to open a criminal case into the illness of Navalny, who is being treated in Berlin after what Germany says was an attempt to kill him.

The Kremlin said Russia has not seen solid evidence of his alleged poisoning and that it had not received any medical data from Germany.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday there was a "substantial chance" that Navalny's suspected poisoning had been ordered by senior Russian officials. Peskov said Moscow viewed that statement as "unacceptable."