Navalny's aide/Russian opposition was killed while negotiating his exchange

2024-02-26 16:15:50, Kosova & Bota CNA

Maria Pevchikh, an aide to Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, has claimed that a prisoner swap - involving the Kremlin critic - was in the final stages before he died in a Siberian prison.

Pevchikh, head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said in a YouTube video on Monday that Navalny's aides have worked for two years to convince Western officials to negotiate a deal that would included the Kremlin critic and two American citizens held in Russian prisons, for Vadim Krasikov, the former colonel of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in Russia, who has been convicted of killing a former Chechen fighter in Berlin in 2019.

She did not name the two American citizens who were scheduled to be exchanged.

There are currently several Americans being held in Russian prisons, including ex-Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Radio Free Europe reporter Alsu Kurmasheva.

Navalny would be included in the deal as part of a "humanitarian exchange".

"In early February, Putin offered to exchange FSB assassin Vadim Krasikov, who is serving time for a murder in Berlin, for two American citizens and Alexei Navalny. I received the confirmation that the negotiations were in the final stage at the February 15 meeting. On February 16, Aleksey was killed," said Pevchikh.

"Aleksei Navalny could have sat with us here today," she added.

Her statements have not been confirmed or contradicted by other sources.

Asked about this issue on February 26, German Government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said she could not comment.

Earlier this month, Putin told American commentator Tucker Carlson that "a deal can be reached" to free Gershkovich, who was arrested in March last year in Russia on espionage charges, which he and the Government have considered them unfounded, with a Russian "patriot" serving a sentence in Germany, and this is believed to have been a reference to Krasikov.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Western officials at the time as saying Putin wanted Krasikov exchanged for two American prisoners, including Gershkovich.

In the video, Pevchikh suspected that Putin "did not tolerate" the release of Navalny and instead of the exchange "wanted to get rid of him completely".

She has not provided evidence to support her claim.

According to her, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has been an "unofficial negotiator" between the Kremlin and European officials.

"I asked Roman Abramovich about the conditions and what Putin said. "Unfortunately, Abramovich did not answer the questions, but he did not deny anything," said Pevchik.

Neither Abramovich nor the Kremlin have commented on her statement.

Navaly's body was handed over to his family over the weekend, a week after his death in the so-called "Polar Wolf" prison in the Arctic was made public.

He has been serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges that he and his supporters consider to be politically motivated.

The cause of his death is still unknown.

Navalny's mother has accused Russian officials of pressuring her to hold a secret burial ceremony for her son to avoid crowds.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on February 26 that it is "absurd" to claim that Navalny's family was pressured./ REL