Kremlin denies Navalny swap talks with West
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not say there were negotiations with the West on swapping Alexey Navalny before the opposition figure’s death in a penal colony last month, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov clarified on Monday.
Speaking to his supporters after the preliminary results were announced in Russia’s presidential election late on Sunday, Putin revealed that several days before Navalny had died, a suggestion had been made to exchange him for Russian prisoners being held by the US and its allies.
The idea came from “some of my colleagues… not members of the administration,” Putin stressed. “The person who talked to me did not even finish the phrase. I said ‘I agree.’ But what happened, happened,” he added, stating that his only condition had been that Navalny did not return to Russia.
When asked to comment on Putin’s remarks, Peskov replied that the president only “said that one person put forward an idea about exchanging Navalny, to which he potentially agreed and immediately told the person who put forward such an idea about it.”
“Putin did not say that negotiations were held on this matter,” the spokesman emphasized.
Peskov noted that the president had refrained from mentioning the person’s name who came up with the idea of the swap or any other details regarding it. “Accordingly, I cannot do this either,” the spokesman added.
The Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), an NGO formerly headed by Navalny, previously claimed that the opposition figure was due to be swapped for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian national convicted of the murder of a former Chechen militant commander in Germany in 2021. Talks on the issue were “at the final stage,” according to the NGO.
Maria Pevchikh, the current head of FBK, has suggested that Navalny was “killed” to prevent the swap. Moscow has rejected the allegations, calling for patience until the end of the official investigation into his death.
Navalny, who had been serving a lengthy sentence due to violations of the terms of a previous fraud sentence and “extremist activities,” died at a penal colony in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region on February 16.
The prison authorities said the 47-year-old suddenly fell ill after a walk and collapsed, with efforts to resuscitate him failing. According to FBK, the death certificate provided to Navalny’s mother said he had died of natural causes.
