Harris warns ‘Russia is responsible’ for Navalny loss of life as world leaders react
For free actual time breaking information alerts despatched straight to your inbox signal as much as our breaking information emails
Sign as much as our free breaking information emails
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday positioned blame for the loss of life of Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny squarely on the shoulders of Russian president Vladimir Putin, main a string of world leaders who’ve reacted in horror to the information.
Ms Harris informed attendees on the annual Munich Security Conference that the US authorities remains to be working to verify the details and circumstances of Navalny’s passing, however referred to as the event “terrible news” whereas providing prayers to his household, together with his spouse Yulia Navalnaya, who can also be attending the convention.
“If confirmed, this would be a further sign of Putin’s brutality,” stated Ms Harris, who then added: “Whatever story they tell, let us be clear, Russia is responsible”.
Ms Harris’ feedback echoed remarks made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken within the hours after Navalny’s loss of life was introduced in Russian state media.
Mr Blinken, who’s attending the convention as a part of the US delegation led by Ms Harris, informed reporters travelling with him in Germany that Russia had “persecuted, poisoned, and imprisoned” the anti-corruption activist for many years and stated the report of his loss of life, if true, “underscores the weakness and rot at the heart of the system that Putin has built”.
“Russia is responsible for this,” Mr Blinken stated.
He added that he and different US officers can be “talking to the many other countries concerned about Alexei Navalny, especially if these reports turn out to be true”.
Mr Blinken’s British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron, stated there ought to be “consequences” for Vladimir Putin as he blamed Alexei Navalny’s loss of life on the “action that Putin’s Russia took”.
Speaking to broadcasters in Munich, the Foreign Secretary stated: “Alexei Navalny was an incredibly brave fighter against corruption and he gave up everything in campaigning for what he believed in, and my heart goes out to his wife and to his family.
“We should be clear about what has happened here. Putin’s Russia imprisoned him, trumped up charges against him, poisoned him, sent him to an Arctic penal colony and now he’s tragically died.”
“We should hold Putin accountable for this, and no one should be in any doubt about the dreadful nature of Putin’s regime in Russia after what has just happened.”
Asked whether or not there ought to be penalties, Lord Cameron stated: “There should be consequences because there’s no doubt in my mind that this man was a brave fighter against corruption, for justice, for democracy, and look what Putin’s Russia did to him.
“They trumped up charges, they imprisoned him, they poisoned him, they sent him to an Arctic penal colony and he’s died, and that is because of the action that Putin’s Russia took”.
Other world leaders weighed in on stories of Navalny’s loss of life in related style, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak describing it as “terrible news”.
“As the fiercest advocate for Russian democracy, Alexei Navalny demonstrated incredible courage throughout his life,” he added.
Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated he was “deeply saddened and disturbed” by the information.
“We need to establish all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all the serious questions about the circumstances of his death,” he warned.
Ukrainian chief Volodymyr Zelensky went additional, saying it was “obvious” Putin was straight behind the loss of life.
That view was backed by Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, who stated Mr Navalny had been “brutally murdered by the Kremlin”.
“Whatever your thoughts about Alexei Navalny as the politician, he was just brutally murdered by the Kremlin. That’s a fact and that is something one should know about the true nature of Russia’s current regime. My condolences to the family and friends,” he wrote on X, previously often known as Twitter.
The European Union additionally stated it holds Russia chargeable for the loss of life, EU Council President Charles Michel stated.
“Alexei Navalny fought for the values of freedom and democracy,” he stated. “For his ideals, he made the ultimate sacrifice. The EU holds the Russian regime solely responsible for this tragic death.”
Sweden’s minister of overseas affairs Tobias Billstrom stated that if the information was true it was one other “terrible crime” by Putin’s regime.
US nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan informed National Public Radio (NPR): “If it’s confirmed, it is a terrible tragedy. And given the Russian government’s long and sordid history of doing harm to its opponents, it raises real and obvious questions about what happened here.”
Source: independent.co.uk
