Putin on Navalny’s death: This is life…Putin spoke for the first time on the death of his biggest opponent

Russian President Vladimir Putin said early Monday he supported the idea of ​​releasing opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prisoner swap, days before the man’s death. Navalny was his biggest enemy. In his first comments on Navalny’s death, Putin said of the dissident’s passing that it happens. There is nothing you can do about it. this is life. The comments were unusual because they repeatedly referred to Navalny by name for the first time in years and they came at a late-night news conference. The results of the presidential election were coming in which was certain to extend his rule. After years of brutally suppressing the opposition and crippling independent media, early returns showed him leading with more than 87% of the votes without any competition.

Navalny’s allies also said last month that talks were underway with Russian and Western officials about a prisoner exchange linked to Navalny. Maria Pevchikh, a longtime aide to the politician, said talks were in their final stages just days before the Kremlin critic’s statement. He accused Putin of “getting rid” of Navalny, but offered no evidence to back his claims, and they could not be independently confirmed.