Published 19:22 IST, January 19th 2021
Kremlin dismisses calls to release Alexei Navalny, says it is Russia's 'internal affair'
Kremlin dismissed calls for Navalny's release, saying he tricked military intelligence into admitting that Russia poisoned him and nation will not heed threats.
Kremlin on January 18 rejected calls of the western countries to free the opposition figure Alexei Navalny, adding that Russia will not heed the threats of sanctions. At a press conference about 'Russian diplomacy', President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the Navalny was sent into custody until February 15 by the Russian court 'lawfully'. Peskov also said that the country believed that Navalny had "tricked" the German military intelligence officers into admitting that Kremlin poisoned him. Navalny has a 'phobia of persecution', the Kremlin spokesperson said. Further, he condemned the opposition figure’s calls for nationwide protests against Putin's administration for plotting his detention.
Kremlin spokesman alleged that the western nations were "artificially morphing" Navalny's case giving it a 'foreign policy' dimension. Kremlin openly dismissed calls for Navalny's release, alleging that Germany did not hand Russia the results of Navalny's poisoning tests because they lacked the equipment to detect the dangerous nerve agent Novichok. Berlin, however, defended its claims saying that it submitted the entire data to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Peskov told Russian reporters that Navalny indulged in a sham after videos of his phone call conversations with an alleged Federal Security Service (FSB) agent went viral on YouTube, exposing his plot against Russia’s government. The footage had garnered 12.6 million views, and the voice identified was FSB chemical warfare specialist Konstantin Kudryavtsev who detailed Navalny about Novichok. Navalny has 'pronounced persecution complex' and one can see his manifestations of megalomania, news channel Dozhd quoted Peskov as saying.
Russia dismisses western countries' appeal
Furthermore, Kremlin spokesperson dismissed the US, the UK’s, Canada's, and the European Union officials' calls to free the opposition leader, saying that Russia will not take their statements into account. Instead, Peskov warned the western world to not interfere in country's internal matters. Reports of a nationwide protest against Navalny’s arrest organised for January 23 emerged after Kremlin critic’s aide posted a video message on YouTube saying: “Don't be afraid. Take to the streets. Don't do it for me, do it for yourselves and your future. Take to the streets".
Criticising Navalny’s mass protests appeals, Putin’s spokesperson told Russian reporters, what’s happening in Russia was “impossible", and the “height of lawlessness". He called on the western world to take a back step, saying that Navalny was nothing more than just a “Berlin patient". The western countries have been pressurising the Russian government to free Russia’s 44-year-old opposition leader who was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport at passport control by the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) and uniformed military guards.
Updated 19:22 IST, January 19th 2021