Law enforcement officers stand guard at Red Square in Moscow on Feb. 2
Russian dissident leader Navalny was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, and the European Union is discussing whether to impose sanctions on Russia in addition to condemning it. U.S. President Joe Biden demanded Russia’s release on Feb. 4, but the Kremlin slammed Biden for saying “very provocative and empty words. Earlier, the Russian side also expelled Swedish, Polish and German diplomats who were in solidarity with Navalny.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his first major foreign policy speech since taking office on April 4. He named China and Russia as the main authoritarian challenges. He said the United States and the international community are deeply concerned about Russia’s repression of people’s freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. He urged Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “We have said that we don’t care for this kind of patronizing statement. We will not release anyone. This is very provocative and unconstructive rhetoric.”
Peskov admitted that the two countries “have a lot of disagreements and differences of opinion on key issues,” but Moscow still wants to continue working with the Biden-dominated White House.
In addition, Russia to participate in a march in solidarity with Navalny, serious interference in the internal affairs of Russia, 5 will Germany, Sweden and Poland’s diplomatic expulsion.
In response, the Swedish Foreign Ministry said that it is an important task for diplomats to observe political developments in the countries where they are stationed, and it is a diplomatic duty to observe the march.
Law enforcement officers stand guard in Moscow’s Red Square on Feb. 2
Russian authorities imposed a rare blockade in central Moscow after Navalny was arrested upon his return from Germany last month. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Moscow and other cities over the past two weekends, and police have cracked down on them in a massive crackdown that has seen authorities arrest more than 5,300 people.
A Moscow court sentenced Navalny to three and a half years in prison, although the Time he spent under house arrest will count toward his sentence, so he will actually serve two years and eight months.
Navalny is escorted from a police station in Khimki, outside Moscow, on January 18, 2021.
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