Death of Alexei Navalny Causing Friction between the US and Russia

By admin On Feb 20, 2024

President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is considering more sanctions against Russia after opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison last week.

“We already have sanctions, but we are considering additional sanctions, yes,” Biden told reporters as he arrived at the White House after spending the weekend in Delaware.

Navalny, a Russian opposition leader to President Vladimir Putin, died in an Arctic-based prison on Friday, the Washington Examiner reported.

In 2021, Biden warned that “the consequences of [Navalny’s death while in prison] would be devastating for Russia,” adding that it would be difficult to trust the Kremlin’s explanation as to how he would die.

“What do you think happens when he’s saying it’s not about hurting Navalny, all the stuff he says to rationalize the treatment of Navalny, and then he dies in prison?” the president said at the time. “It’s about trust. It’s about their ability to influence other nations in a positive way.”

“No President of the United States could keep faith with the American people if they did not speak out to defend our democratic values, to stand up for the universal and fundamental freedoms that all men and women have in our view.”

Following Navalny’s death on Friday, Biden blamed the Kremlin’s mistreatment of him for his death and highlighted the numerous sanctions placed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled, not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world,” Biden argued.

Navalny was first imprisoned in early 2021 and reportedly faced mistreatment. At one point, he went missing for at least three weeks in 2023.

Former President Donald Trump also addressed Navalny’s death several days after he passed away, garnering criticism from his Republican primary rival and former U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley for his silence.

“The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction.”

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.

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