Vladimir Putin has broken his silence on the death of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in an Arctic prison last month.

Speaking at his campaign headquarters after claiming a landslide victory in Russia’s sham elections, the Russian president claimed he was prepared to exchange Navalny, describing the opposition leader’s death as a “sad event”.

“Concerning Mr Navalny. Yes, he passed away, it’s always a sad event,” said Putin. He added that “a few days” before Navalny died, he had been approached by colleagues with the idea of trading the Russian dissident in a prisoner exchange with Western countries.

“I said: ‘I agree. Only on one condition: we’ll exchange him so that he does not return,’” he said.

#putin #russia #navalny

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