Putin lamented that Navalny's death was a “sad incident”.
Russian won the presidential election on Sunday, as expected Vladimir Putin mentioned in his victory speech for the first time To Alexei Navalny after the death of the opposition politician of the name. Putin has usually talked about Navalny in roundabout terms.
Navalnyi, who was Putin's most visible opponent both in Russia and internationally, died under unclear circumstances on February 16 in a penal colony in Harp, Siberia. The relatives and allies of Navalny, who died at the age of 47, as well as western leaders, have blamed the Russian leadership for Navalny's death.
Putin claimed in his speech on Sunday, according to Reuters, that he would have agreed to exchange Navalny in the prisoner exchange.
“I was told a few days before his death that there was an idea where Navalny would be exchanged for some people in Western prisons. I replied that I agreed to the proposal,” Putin told the crowd at his campaign office in Moscow.
As a condition of the prisoner exchange, Putin said that Navalnyi must never return to Russia. Putin lamented that Navalny's death before the exchange took place was a “sad incident”.
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