The Biden administration is “deeply concerned” about a ruling by a Russian court on Tuesday to sentence opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 32 months in prison, officials said, reiterating its demand that Moscow Navalny and others detained immediately return released for protest against his arrest.
“Like every Russian citizen, Mr Navalny is entitled to the rights enshrined in the Russian Constitution, and Russia has international obligations to respect equality before the law and the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” he said. foreign affairs said. Antony Blinken
Antony Blinken Control admin ‘deeply concerned’ over Russian court ruling on Navalny Navalny sentenced to 2.5 years in prison Senate confirms Buttigieg as transport secretary MORE said in a statement.
“Even if we work with Russia to advance American interests, we will now coordinate with our allies and partners to hold Russia accountable for failing to uphold the rights of its citizens,” Blinken added.
A court in Moscow ruled earlier Tuesday that Navalny should serve a prison sentence for violating the terms of his 2014 parole. Russian prosecutors have argued that he violated the terms of his release by failing to report while recovering from a nerve agent attack in Germany last year. The US and other countries blamed the Russian Federal Security Service for the poisoning of Navalny; Russia denies involvement.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiWhite House says space force work will continue Biden with immigration orders: ‘I eliminate bad policies’ Biden sympathizes with families of FBI agents killed in Florida MORE repeated Blinken’s statement at a briefing on Tuesday afternoon, saying the White House was “deeply concerned” about the decision to sentence Navalny and called on the Russian government to release Navalny and other unjustly detained Russians. She did not act on what the US would do in response.
President Biden has ordered a comprehensive review of Russian aggression intelligence, including Moscow’s involvement in the Navalny poisoning as well as the SolarWinds cap, election interference and reports of Russian abundance on US troops in Afghanistan.
‘This is an ongoing investigation by the national security team. “When they reach that conclusion, they will launch a policy process to determine what steps we will take from here,” Psaki said.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday afternoon that officials were working “very fast” on the comprehensive review and did not rule out taking action in response to Russia’s treatment of Navalny before the full investigation was completed. The director is led by the director of national intelligence Avril Haines
Avril HainesGrenell congratulates Buttigieg on being ‘deeply concerned’ by the second openly gay cabinet member, Biden-admin, about the Russian court sentence of Navalny Senate, confirms Buttigieg as transport secretary MORE.
“The president has instructed his DNI to undertake this review precisely so that we can have a holistic view of what the Russians have done over the past few years so that we can ensure that our policy options, which include sanctions, but not necessarily the extent of it. it has been appropriately calibrated, ”Price told reporters.
Navalny was given a suspended sentence of 3.5 years in 2014 for extortion. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Navalny’s conviction in 2014 was politically motivated. He was arrested in Russia last month, leading to widespread protests across the country.
The Biden government has indicated its intention to pursue a firm approach to confronting Russian aggression, while also trying to work with Moscow on issues of mutual concern, including agreeing to a five-year extension of the New START arms treaty with Moscow because it expires month. Biden spoke to Putin last week and pressured him to treat Navalny in Moscow, in addition to other areas of concern.