Biden to keep all options on table for Navalny's release: US Press Sec Jen Psaki
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'I'll just reiterate our call from here on Russian authorities to release all those detained for exercising their universal rights and for the immediate and unconditional release of Alexei Navalny,' US said in a statement
The US President Joe Biden's team has reported that he will be keeping all options on the table while considering any response to the arrest of the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
"First, I'd like to point all of you to a statement that was released this weekend by the State Department strongly condemning the use of harsh tactics against protesters and journalists in cities throughout Russia," the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday.
Talking about the arrest of Navalny in Russia, Psaki said: "These continued efforts to suppress Russians' rights to peacefully protest and assemble and express their freedom of expression, and the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and the crackdown on protests that followed are troubling indications of further restrictions on Russian civil society."
"So, I'll just reiterate our call from here on Russian authorities to release all those detained for exercising their universal rights and for the immediate and unconditional release of Alexei Navalny," she continued.
She also said that Biden reserves the right to choose his manner and time of response.
Further, answering a question about whether Biden will hold the Russian President personally accountable if Navalny's health deteriorates whilst in the jail, she said, "I would say this is the reason why the President tasked his national security team, his intelligence team, with assessing a range of issues as it relates to our relationship with Russia, including the SolarWinds breach, including the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, which we have been quite outspoken about from our national security adviser to the State Department, we'll continue to be."
"We want to see that review conclude. But as has always been the case, the president reserves the right to respond in the time and manner of his choosing. And I'm not going to take options off the table from here," she added.
This statement has come after several other international leaders have condemned the violence and police brutality against the democratic voices in Russia and have urged the Vladimir Putin-led government to immediately release Alexei Navalny.