Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday rejected allegations that the Kremlin was behind the poisoning of his top political foe, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and accused U.S. intelligence agencies of fomenting the claims. Speaking via video call during an annual marathon news conference, the Russian leader countered the accusations by saying that if the Kremlin wanted to poison Navalny it would have pressed the attack home. "If there was such a desire, it would have been done," Putin said with a chuckle. Russian authorities have vehemently rejected the accusations of involvement in the poisoning. He alleged that Navalny was accusing the Kremlin of ordering to poison him in order to raise his political profile as the top opposition figure.

Source: Fox News December 17, 2020 12:56 UTC