U.S. wanted Navalny as part of historic prisoner swap with Russia
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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a courtroom in Moscow in 2017. Photo: Nikita Shvetsov/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The U.S. was pushing to include former Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prisoner exchange before he died under mysterious circumstances in February, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a press briefing on Thursday.
Why it matters: Sullivan said that the U.S. was attempting to secure Navalny's freedom throughout negotiations that eventually culminated with Thursday's historic prisoner swap between Russia, the U.S. and other countries.
- Thursday's prisoner exchange secured the release of several Russian political dissidents, including at least four who had worked for Navalny, President Biden said on Thursday.
- Three American citizens and a permanent U.S. resident were also released by Russia as part of the swap.
What they're saying: After being asked if Navalny was supposed to be a part of Thursday's swap, Sullivan said the U.S. previously was "working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny."
- "In fact, on the very day that he died, I saw Evan's parents," he said. "I told them that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news and that we were going to work day and night to get to this day."
- "That work continued over the course of the past few months and culminated into today," he added.
Context: Navalny went to prison in 2021 after surviving a Kremlin-linked assassination attempt with a military-grade nerve agent.
- Navalny was sentenced to over 20 years in prison after multiple trials in retaliation for exposing corruption among Russia's elite, including among people within Russian leader Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
- Navalny died after languishing in Russia's brutal penal system for over 35 months. He and his allies repeatedly warned he was being held in terrible conditions while being denied medical attention.
The big picture: Sullivan's comments marked the first time a U.S. official has publicly confirmed that the U.S. government was working to free Navalny from prison before his death.
- Putin previously said he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving Navalny.
- State Department officials at the time would not confirm if that had been the case due to departmental policy not to comment on the details of ongoing prisoner negotiations.
Go deeper: Russia frees Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan in major prisoner swap with U.S.
