Biden says ‘Putin and his thugs’ caused Navalny’s death

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of Alexei Navalny and said he was “not surprised” but “outraged” by the opposition leader’s death.

After Russian prison officials said Navalny had died, Biden said at the White House, “We don’t know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that Navalny’s death was the result of Putin and his henchmen.” The result was.”

“Russian officials are going to tell their own story,” Biden said. “But make no mistake. Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death.”

He also said he was “considering” additional steps to punish Russia after Navalny’s death, praising the opposition leader for standing up “bravely” against the “corruption” and “violence” of the Putin government. Paid tribute to.

The White House was still seeking more information about Navalny’s death in the Russian penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, where he was sent less than two months ago.

But the development and Biden’s response have further thawed already bitter US-Russia relations.

Navalny, 47, was a prominent critic of Putin and Biden said after meeting Putin in Geneva in June 2021 that Navalny’s death would have devastating consequences for Putin.

Biden and Putin remain at loggerheads over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, and Biden is urging Republican hard-liners in the U.S. Congress to support additional funding to pay for more weapons for Ukraine’s military. .

Russia has featured prominently in Biden’s campaign for re-election in November.

His potential Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, sparked bipartisan outrage last week by saying he would do nothing to protect Russia’s NATO allies unless they did a greater share of the common security.

The top Republican in Congress, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, has not put the Senate bill up for a vote on new funding for Ukraine. After Navalny’s death, he said the US and its allies should “use every means available to reduce Putin’s ability to wage his unprovoked war in Ukraine and aggression against the Baltic states.”

Biden said, “History is watching the House of Representatives. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”

In Munich for a major security conference, Vice President Kamala Harris vowed the US would never step back from its NATO alliance obligations imposed after World War Two, a move that drew criticism for global engagement with presidential candidate Trump’s isolationist views. That’s the opposite of Biden’s approach.

A White House official said he also met with Alexei Navalny’s wife, Yulia, on the sidelines of the conference and “expressed his sadness and outrage” at the reports of her husband’s death.

Biden’s presidential re-election campaign released a new minute-long ad on Friday criticizing Trump for abandoning NATO. He planned to target ads to 2.5 million American voters in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, who trace their ancestry to NATO states bordering Russia.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakeel, Gabriel Araujo and Donna Chiacu; Writing by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)

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