Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he had supported a prisoner swap deal that would have led to the release of Alexei Navalny, in his first public comments about the opposition leader since he died in prison last month.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference at his campaign headquarters.
Speaking to reporters after he won the Russian Presidential election—an expected result after cracking down on all serious opposition efforts—Putin responded to questions about the circumstances around Navalny’s death by saying he simply “passed away.”
The Russian president added, “It happens. There is nothing you can do about it. It’s life,” according to the Associated Press.
Putin’s comments were one of the rare instances where he mentioned Navalny by name in public and said “certain colleagues” proposed the idea of swapping the opposition leader for “certain people held in penitentiary facilities in Western countries.”
Putin said he agreed to the proposal even before the person talking to him finished his sentence, but only on the condition that Navalny would never return to Russia.
“Unfortunately, whatever happened, happened,” the Russian leader said without offering any additional details, including the identity of the person whose release Russia had sought in return.