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“It just came to our attention then. We cannot and will not take these statements into account,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told reporters.
This was the Kremlin’s first reaction to the arrest of Navaln, who had returned from a plane from Germany, on Sunday.
Navaln was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport less than an hour after returning to Russia despite warnings that he would be arrested. So far, A. Navaln has been treated in Berlin after being poisoned by the nerve paralyzing substance “Novičiok” last summer. A critic of the Kremlin claims that the Federal Security Service (FSB) tried to poison him on the orders of Vladimir Putin.
VIDEO: “15/15”: What awaits A. Navaln in Russia?
His dramatic arrest was condemned by the West. The United States, the European Union, France and Canada are calling for his release.
“This is an absolutely internal matter and we will not allow anyone to interfere with it,” Peskov said.
He said the Kremlin was “concerned” by opposition calls for “illegal” protests.
“It just came to our attention then. We are not an institution that can assess this, but it could definitely be the basis for the analysis of calls for illegal actions,” Peskov said.
When asked if the Kremlin was concerned about the large-scale protests, Peskov replied: “Not at all.”
Navaln’s allies called on the Russians to gather in Moscow on Saturday to march on the Kremlin when a 44-year-old opposition politician was detained until mid-February.
On Monday night, A. Navalnas was transferred to Moscow’s “Matrosskaya tišina” interrogation cell, which is among the strictest in the country.
Navaln has repeatedly led large street protests against Putin. The last time such protests were held was in the summer of 2019, when supporters of the Kremlin critic were unable to stand in local elections.
Will not participate in ETPA hearings
In addition, Russia has refused to participate in the hearings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (ESPA) on the alleged poisoning of the opposition Alexei Navaln, informed the speaker Jacques Maire.
“Sir [rusų delegatas Piotras] Tolstoy informed me that the Russian representatives would not be present at this meeting. I asked someone to attend anyway, but unfortunately no one will be able to present Russia’s position today, to answer our questions or those of our guests. We did our best to invite Russia, “Maire told ETPA on Tuesday.
According to him, one of the main questions for Moscow is where and when A. Navalnas may have been poisoned.
“The German authorities, as well as the Council of the European Union, say it happened in Russia; Russian authorities say this is not the case and that it should have happened on a plane or in a Berlin hospital.
But if he was poisoned in Berlin or on a plane, who did it and how did these people get the nerve-paralyzing substance Novičiok, which shouldn’t exist? Maire asked.
The French speaker pointed out that Mr. Navaln himself should have participated in the hearings, but that his opposition partner Leonid Volkov would speak at the hearing.
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