Meanwhile, new restrictions went into effect in several other European nations in an effort to staunch the resurgence of the pandemic.

The Kremlin on Thursday said that "such accusations against the Russian president are absolutely groundless and unacceptable."

"There was a meeting, but one shouldn't call it secret,'' Navalny said in a tweet.

German authorities said Wednesday that tests showed “proof without doubt” that Alexei Navalny had been poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.

The bitter marathon of negotiations, which are taking place amid the unprecedented crisis of the coronavirus pandemic, have underscored the deep fissures within the 27-nation bloc

“The days of coal are numbered in Germany,” Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said. “Germany is the first industrialized country that leaves behind both nuclear energy and coal.”

To keep the pandemic under control, Germany needs the reproduction rate to drop below one.

"Because of the unusual nature of the crisis we are choosing an unusual path," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the joint announcement.

The suspect left a number of rambling texts and videos espousing racist views, authorities said, and claimed to have been under surveillance since birth.

The agreement came after about four hours of talks at the chancellery in Berlin.