Russian President Vladimir Putin must be “held accountable” for the death of Alexei Navalny, European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said after a meeting in Brussels on Monday with the widow of the Russian opponent who died in prison.
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“We have expressed our deepest EU condolences to Yulia Navalnaïa,” Mr. Borrell added, reporting on the intervention of Alexeï Navalny’s widow before the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
At the end of that meeting, the Twenty-Seven called for an “independent and transparent international investigation into the circumstances of this sudden death,” according to a press release.
“Vladimir Putin and his regime must be held accountable for the death of Alexei Navalny,” Mr Borrell had previously suggested on X after the Twenty-Seven Ministers heard from Ms Navalny.
But “as Julia said: Russia is not Putin and Putin is not Russia,” Mr. Borrell emphasized.
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The ministers stood up and applauded the Russian opponent's widow for a long time at the end of her short speech, said a European diplomat.
According to several of them, Yulia Navalnaïa reiterated her determination to continue the fight of her husband, Vladimir Putin's main opponent, until his death on Friday in a prison in the Russian Arctic, as she previously affirmed in a video broadcast online.
“Alexei Navalny was a hero and he died a hero,” she also said, according to a European diplomat.
According to this source, she called for the European Union to target Vladimir Putin's entourage and “the corrupt oligarchs” who support him more.
Several European ministers expressed their support for new sanctions against Russia when they arrived in Brussels on Monday.
“We will impose new sanctions,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“This is the minimum we can do,” added his Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis.
The EU has already sanctioned Russia several times with twelve packages of measures and is preparing to adopt a thirteenth package on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th.
“Putin is a murderer. “Putin murdered a person who fought for freedom and democracy, and that is exactly why we must move forward in supporting Ukraine,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
For several ministers, the best way to weaken the Russian president is to help Ukraine, which enters its third year of conflict on Saturday.
“We have to recognize what is at stake today. “If Ukraine is attacked and Russia is able to expand, it will be a dictatorship that expands and moves a little closer to the European Union,” warned Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.