Reacting to the reported death of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, President Joe Biden said: “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death.”
Aleksey Navalny’s courage will never be forgotten.
This tragedy – further proof of Putin’s brutality – reminds us of the stakes of this moment.
Failure to support Ukraine against his vicious onslaught will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/h1AM76BV8K
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 16, 2024
Conservative political pundit and former Chief of Staff for Republican Vice President Dan Quayle, Bill Kristol, reacted to the news of Navalyn’s death by recirculating the 2021 CNN article, Biden Warns of ‘Devastating’ Consequences for Russia If Navalny Dies in Prison.
Seize the $300b of frozen Russian assets. pic.twitter.com/Tt7mM2Ubq5
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 16, 2024
Kristol suggested that Biden “seize the $300b of frozen Russian assets.” Russian-born former world chess master and political activist Garry Kasparov agreed with Kristol and added: “Today would be a good day to seize $300 billion in Russian assets and give it to Ukraine.”
In December, Reuters reported that “after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia’s central bank and finance ministry, blocking around $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West.” The confiscation of the blocked funds was a hot topic at Davos in January as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the action.
Today would be a good day to seize $300 billion in Russian assets and give it to Ukraine.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) February 16, 2024
In the CNN article, Putin is quoted: “[Navalny] consciously ignored the requirements of the law. The gentleman in question went abroad for treatment. As soon as he went to the hospital he showed his videos on the internet. … He wanted consciously to break the law. He did exactly what he wanted to do. So what kind of discussion can we be having [about him]?”
Speaking after receiving the news of her husband’s death, Yulia Navalnaya, an economist, addressed an audience at the Munich Security Conference which included U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Navalny’s widow urged the West to hold Putin to account.
Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Alexei Navalny, received a standing ovation from the audience as she began a speech to the Munich Security Conference just hours after hearing about the “horrific news” of her husband’s death.
Read more https://t.co/Wy5hs6AJK9 pic.twitter.com/BK2c1Hf3rd
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 16, 2024