Putin confirms there was an agreement to release Navalny

The Russian president revealed that he had agreed to a deal to release Alexei Navalny, but the opposition politician "regretfully passed away" last month.

"I agreed to the proposal before the person who presented it to me had even finished speaking," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference in Moscow on March 18, when asked about the behind-the-scenes negotiations to release opposition politician Alexei Navalny before his death in IK-3 prison in February.

Mr Putin revealed that a Russian official had presented him with a plan to release a number of prisoners in Russia, including Navalny, in exchange for a number of citizens imprisoned abroad. The Russian president said the only condition he had asked for was that after his release, Navalny would stay in the West and "never return".

"Mr. Navalny's death is a regrettable event," Mr. Putin said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a press conference in Moscow on March 18. Photo: AFP

This is the first time the Russian leader has confirmed the failed prisoner exchange talks involving Alexei Navalny.

Reuters earlier cited a source familiar with the matter as saying Russia had agreed to a prisoner swap with the West, including Alexei Navalny, just days before the opposition politician died in Siberia's IK-3 prison. CNN also cited diplomatic sources as saying Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were involved in the negotiations.

Alexei Navalny appears on video from a prison in Kharp, Yamalo-Nenetsk region, attending a court hearing in Moscow on February 15. Photo: AP

On February 16, the IK-3 prison administration announced that Navalny died suddenly after "feeling unwell while taking a walk".

Navalny, a former lawyer, led the opposition Russian People's Union party from 2019 to 2021 and led numerous anti-government protests. He was arrested in January 2021 in Moscow, sentenced to a total of about 30 years in prison on charges of participating in extremism and other crimes, and transferred to IK-3 in late 2023.

Thanh Danh (According to TASS, RT, Reuters )

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