Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has weighed in on the "deeply troubling" finding by Germany that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned.
A statement published by the Federal Government of Germany on Wednesday said Navalny was flown from Russia to Berlin for medical treatment on August 22, exhibiting symptoms of poisoning.
A specialist laboratory carried out toxicological tests on samples on Navalny, and the results of the tests have revealed "unequivocal proof" of the presence of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.
"The fact that Alexei Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent in Russia is shocking," the statement on behalf of Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "The Federal Government condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms."
Peters said on Twitter Germany's announcement that Navalny was poisoned with the banned nerve agent Novichok is "deeply troubling" and he said New Zealand is urging Russia to provide some clarity.
"This raises serious concerns," he said. "New Zealand encourages Russia's cooperation with the international community to provide answers."
Germany also called on Russia to come clean, saying: "The Russian Government is urgently called upon to make a statement on the incident."
Germany's Federal Foreign Office will inform the Russian Ambassador about the results of the tests, and will inform its partners in the European Union and NATO.
"It will discuss an appropriate joint response with its partners in the light of Russia's pronouncements," the statement said.
Germany will also contact the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which added the group of nerve agents known as Novichoks to its list of banned substances in November last year.
The compounds, developed by the Soviet Union during the cold war, gained notoriety in March 2018 after they were used in the high-profile assassination attempt on former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal in the UK.
Russia denied Britain's accusation of attempted murder.
Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a park bench in the English city of Salisbury in 2018. They recovered in a safe house before being sent overseas.
Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported in June that Skripal and his daughter were living in New Zealand.
United States President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on Russia over the alleged use of a chemical weapon against an ex-spy.
Former British Prime Minister Theresa May held one-on-one talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June last year, and told him his country must end its "irresponsible and destabilising activity".
The Russian President had previously labelled Skripal a "traitor" and a "scumbag".
