Washington DC, US
Reuters
The US will announce a major package of sanctions against Russia on Friday over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the two-year Ukraine war, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.
Biden, speaking to reporters as he departed on a trip to California, did not give details.
A person gestures in front of portraits of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as people attend a protest and vigil held in front of the Russian embassy following the death of Navalny, in Kappara, Malta, on 19th February, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Darrin Zammit Lupi
The latest sanctions on Russia will target a range of items, including the country’s defense and industrial bases, along with sources of revenue for the economy, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
The package will “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny” and for its actions over the course of the war in Ukraine, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.
A senior US official said a sanctions package was already being planned to mark the second anniversary of the war, which Washington will now reconsider and supplement in response to Navalny’s death.
The Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, is discussing sanctions over Navalny’s death on a trip to Europe this week, two sources familiar with the matter said.
Nelson, in visits to Germany, Belgium and France ahead of the second anniversary of the Ukraine war, is also discussing Washington’s authority to target those funding Russia’s war production efforts even if they are in third countries, the Treasury said. It said the US is “aggressively pursuing those who attempt to evade our sanctions.”
The United States already has issued a wide array of sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022, including on Russian President Vladimir Putin, officials and banks.
Washington has also previously imposed sanctions over the 2020 poisoning and imprisonment of Navalny, targeting among them people linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and other officials.
Navalny, Putin’s fiercest domestic critic, fell unconscious and died suddenly on Friday after a walk at the “Polar Wolf” penal colony above the Arctic Circle where he was serving a three-decade sentence, the prison service said.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kirby said the United States is pressing Russia for “complete transparency” on how Navalny died last Friday. Biden has blamed Putin.
“Whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, it’s clear that President Putin and his government are responsible for Mr Navalny’s death,” Kirby said.
The US embassy in Moscow has been seeking more information about Navalny’s death, Kirby said, “but it’s difficult to get a point where you can be confident in what the Russians would say about his death.”
Candles burn as people attend a vigil following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on 19th February, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Benoit Tessier
Meanwhile, the European Union summoned Russia’s representative to the EU and called for an independent international investigation into the death of Navalny, the EU’s diplomatic service said on Tuesday.
It said Michael Siebert, a senior official in the European External Action Service, also urged Russia to release Navalny’s body to his family without further delay at the meeting with Kirill Loginov, Russia’s acting permanent representative to the EU.
“The EU side conveyed the EU’s outrage over the death of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which the ultimate responsibility lies with President [Vladimir] Putin and the Russian authorities,” it said.
Siebert “called upon Russia to allow an independent and transparent international investigation into circumstances” of Navalny’s death, it added.
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The Kremlin has denied involvement in Navalny’s death and says Western allegations that Putin was responsible are unacceptable. Russia’s Investigative Committee says it has launched a procedural investigation into the death, and the Kremlin has said it does not bow to EU demands.
Navalny, 47, fell unconscious and died suddenly onFriday after a walk at the penal colony above the Arctic Circle where he was serving a three-decade sentence, the Russian prison service said.
The EU moved closer on Monday to imposing new sanctions against Moscow over its war on Ukraine as Navalny’s widow visited Brussels. The US is set to announce sanctions against Russia on Friday over Navalny’s death.
The Belgian government also said on Tuesday that it had summoned the Russian ambassador over Navalny’s death and called for an independent investigation.
– With reporting by ANDREW GRAY, KATHARINE JACKSON, JARRETT RENSHAW, and DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS
