Chemical weapons agency: use of nerve agent is considered use of chemical weapons"

The poisoning of any individual with a toxic nerve agent would be considered use of a banned chemical weapon, the global chemical weapons agency OPCW said on Thursday in a statement about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Germany has said Navalny was poisoned with a Soviet-era toxin called Novichok, a chemical that was banned this year by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

"Any poisoning of an individual through the use of a nerve agent is considered a use of chemical weapons. Such an allegation is a matter of grave concern," the OPCW said.