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| X Joe Biden |
President Joe Biden met on Thursday in San Francisco with the widow and daughter of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose death has prompted hundreds of Russians to gather in impromptu vigils, while the United States and other countries point to the Kremlin as responsible.
The White House reported in a statement on the meeting, during which Biden expressed his condolences to the opposition leader's widow, Yulia Navalny, and their daughter, Dasha, for the death of their 47-year-old father, considered the leading voice of opposition against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the meeting, Biden expressed his admiration for Navalny's "extraordinary courage" and his "legacy of fighting against corruption and for a free and democratic Russia where the rule of law applies equally to all."
Moreover, Biden took the opportunity during the meeting to explain to the opposition leader's widow, as announced by the White House on Tuesday, that the United States plans to announce a package of sanctions on Russia in response to Navalny's death, the "repression" by Russian authorities, and the "brutal and illegal" war in Ukraine.
Today, I met with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya – Aleksey Navalny's loved ones – to express my condolences for their devastating loss.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 22, 2024
Aleksey's legacy of courage will live on in Yulia and Dasha, and the countless people across Russia fighting for democracy and human rights. pic.twitter.com/aiCcgTrws3
The White House has not wanted to specify what sanctions the United States will impose on Russia, a country that has faced numerous economic restrictions from both Washington and the European Union (EU) since the invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
The Biden administration has imposed several sanctions on Russia, including actions to isolate oligarchs close to Putin, sanctions on the energy sector, and the exclusion of Russian banks from the international SWIFT interbank communication system, further isolating the Russian economy from the international financial system.
Shortly after Navalny's death was made public last Friday, Biden warned that he was considering different options to respond to the loss, which he directly blames on Putin.
The U.S. president had already hinted in 2021, after meeting with Putin in Geneva, that there would be "devastating consequences" for Russia if Navalny died in prison.
Navalny's widow directly blames Putin for ordering the assassination of her husband, the main political opponent.