Russia dismisses outcry over detention of Kremlin foe Navalny

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday dismissed what he called the 'artificial resonance' of the case of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in the West and said Moscow was not concerned about damage to its image.

"We should probably think about our image, but we're not young ladies going to a ball," Lavrov told reporters at his annual news conference. The comments came after police detained Navalny, 44, on his arrival in Moscow late on Sunday after he flew home from Germany for the first time since he was poisoned last summer.

Lavrov said Germany had not provided Russia with material evidence that the prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin was poisoned and that Russia saw no grounds to open a criminal investigation.