Blinken says US has ‘deep concern’ about Navalny safety

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. has “deep concern” about Russia’s treatment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

He also said the U.S. is not ruling anything out in response to Russian aggression, though he signaled action would not be taken until after intelligence reviews of Moscow’s activities are completed.  

“We have a deep concern for Mr. Navalny’s safety and security and the larger point is that his voice is the voice of many, many, many Russians and it should be heard, not muzzled,” Blinken told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon on his first full day as secretary of State.

Blinken noted that President Biden has ordered intelligence assessments of the Navalny poisoning, the SolarWinds hack, reports of Russian bounties on U.S. service members in Afghanistan and Russia’s election interference. 

Asked if the U.S. would rule anything out if harm comes to Navalny or the demonstrators who have been jailed after protesting his imprisonment, Blinken replied that officials are “not ruling out anything” but “want to get this full review done and then we’ll take it from there.”

The State Department and White House have demanded Navalny’s immediate release and rebuked Russia’s crackdown on sweeping protests that broke out over the weekend in support of Navalny.

Biden held his first call with Russian President Vladimir Putin since becoming president on Tuesday during which the White House said he pressed Putin on Navalny and other issues of concern.

“President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies. The two presidents agreed to maintain transparent and consistent communication going forward,” the White House said. 

At the same time, Biden and Putin also agreed to extend the New START bilateral nuclear arms treaty for five years, less than two weeks before it is due to expire.

The White House has not offered a specific timeline for the reviews undertaken by the intelligence community of Russia’s behavior, which Biden ordered last week shortly after assuming the presidency.