The United States is preparing to adopt a package of “major sanctions” against Moscow after the death in prison of Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, the White House announced on Tuesday February 20. “At the initiative of the president [Joe] Biden, we will announce a set of major sanctions on Friday to hold Russia accountable for what happened.” to the opponent, said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
France asks “an independent and thorough investigation”. Paris holds the Russian authorities for “fully responsible”, of the disappearance in detention of this political figure, according to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Quai d’Orsay underlines that “the conditions of detention [de l’homme politique] had deteriorated significantly since his transfer to a penal colony..
Alexei Navalny’s widow says she “doesn’t care” about the Kremlin’s statements. “I don’t care how the killer’s spokesperson comments on my wordswrote Yulia Navalnaïa on the social network Return Alexei’s body and let us bury him with dignity, don’t stop people from saying goodbye to him.”
The opponent’s mother asks Vladimir Putin to hand over her son’s body. Lyudmila Navalnaïa called on the Russian president to hand over “without delay” the remains of Alexeï Navalny, in a video filmed near the penal colony where he was detained.