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Moscow Rejects Claims of Navalny’s Potential Inclusion in Prisoner Exchange

Moscow Rejects Claims of Navalny’s Potential Inclusion in Prisoner Exchange
September 13, 2023



The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, declared on Wednesday that Moscow will not entertain any “speculation” regarding imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s involvement in a potential prisoner swap with Western countries.

Zakharova dismissed the matter during a briefing at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, stating that “this is speculation that does not warrant official comment or informal discussion.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that a “possible” multilateral agreement to exchange Russian detainees in Western nations for Western nationals in Russia could potentially include dissidents like Navalny, as stated by anonymous officials from several countries.

Navalny, a prominent Kremlin critic, was sentenced this summer to an additional 19 years in prison for “extremism,” on top of his current nine-year sentence for fraud.

Both Navalny and his allies have criticized these judgments as politically motivated.

Navalny was imprisoned in January 2021 upon his return to Russia after surviving a near-fatal poisoning with the banned military-grade nerve agent Novichok, as confirmed by Western scientists.

His associates, who are currently residing in exile abroad, have refrained from commenting on whether Navalny would agree to be part of any prisoner swap, as mentioned in the Wall Street Journal’s report.

The Kremlin has chosen not to respond to the notion of Navalny’s potential exchange.

Tatiana Stanovaya, a seasoned Russia analyst,speculated on Monday that President Vladimir Putin might be willing to pay a high price to repatriate convicted Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov from Germany.

In 2021, a German court sentenced Krasikov to life imprisonment for the assassination of a former Chechen commander in a park in central Berlin two years earlier.

“For Putin, Navalny is neither an asset nor a threat. He may agree to extradite Navalny for Krasikov, irrespective of any concerns that may arise within his inner circle and among the secret services,” Stanovaya remarked.

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