President Joe Biden on Friday said he was “both not surprised and outraged” by the reported death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as he joined with other Western officials in blaming it on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” said Biden in a brief speech at the White House.
“We don’t know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did,” the president also said.
When asked about his 2021 warning of “devastating” consequences for Russia if Navalny were to die in prison, Biden said his remark was made three years ago, and Russia has since faced “a hell of a lot of consequences,” referring to major sanctions since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the Russian soldiers killed or wounded in the fighting.
“We’re contemplating what else could be done,” but in 2021 there “were no actions being taken against Russia,” he said.
“We’re looking at a whole number of options.”
During his remarks, Biden reiterated his call for the Republican-run House to approve aid for Ukraine. He also repeated his criticism of former President Donald Trump for recently warning NATO allies that he “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that don’t meet commitments on military spending.
Russia’s prison agency said Navalny, 47, died in prison Friday. He has been a fierce Putin foe who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests.
World leaders have wasted no time Friday in pinning the reported death on Putin and his government. U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: “Putin’s Russia imprisoned him, trumped up charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony and now he has tragically died. And we should hold Putin accountable for this.”
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