Biden Furious Over Navalny's Death: "Putin and His Thugs' Actions"

Biden "Putin Responsible"
Russia "Insane Claim"
Biden Warned 3 Years Ago... Additional Sanctions Possible

Tensions between the United States and Russia are escalating over the prison death of Alexei Navalny, a political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. President Joe Biden harshly condemned the death, stating, "There is no doubt that this is the result of some action taken by Putin and his thugs."

President Joe Biden of the United States

According to the American daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT), on the 16th (local time), President Biden held an unscheduled press conference, blaming President Putin for Navalny's death and fiercely criticizing him. He expressed outrage over the news of Navalny's death, saying, "Putin not only attacks the people of other countries such as Ukraine but also commits horrific crimes against his own citizens."

Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor at the White House, appeared on the American public radio NPR that day and said, "Considering the Russian government's ugly history of harming political opponents, there are obvious questions about what happened regarding Navalny's death."

In response, Russia rejected the claims as near madness. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, stated, "There is no information yet about the cause of death. But such statements are being made," emphasizing, "Clearly, this is complete madness. We can never accept such statements. They are unacceptable."

Earlier, Russian authorities stated that "Navalny was not feeling well after a walk and lost consciousness almost immediately," and although medical personnel performed emergency measures, they confirmed Navalny's death and are investigating the exact cause according to procedure.

President Biden, shortly after taking office, held his first summit with President Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 2021, and during the press conference said that if Navalny were to die in prison, "I made it clear to him that it would have severe consequences that would cause tremendous damage to Russia." When asked by reporters what measures would be taken against Russia regarding this death, President Biden acknowledged that due to the various sanctions imposed over the past two years because of the Ukraine war, there are not many additional cards to play but said, "I am carefully considering what else can be done."