Associates of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny say talks were under way shortly before his death to exchange him for a Russian imprisoned in Germany.
Maria Pevchikh, who lives outside Russia, on Monday said she received confirmation the talks were in the “final stages” on February 15, the day before Navalny was reported dead.
“Alexei Navalny could have been sitting here now, today. It’s not a figure of speech,” she said in a video statement.
According to Pevchikh, Navalny and two US citizens held in Russia were supposed to be swapped for Vadim Krasikov.
He was serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 killing in Berlin of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen descent.
German judges said Krasikov acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him a false identity, passport and resources to carry out the killing.
She didn’t identify the US citizens that were supposedly part of the deal.
They and the US government dispute the charges against them.
These people dared to challenge Putin. All of them are dead
German officials have refused to comment when asked if there had been any effort by Russia to secure a swap of Krasikov.
US commentator Tucker Carlson earlier this month asked President Vladimir Putin about the prospects of exchanging Gershkovich, and Putin said the Kremlin was open to negotiations.
He pointed to a man imprisoned in a “US-allied country” for “liquidating a bandit” who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers during separatist fighting in Chechnya. Putin didn’t mention names but appeared to refer to Krasikov.
Pevchikh alleged in her video that Putin “wouldn’t tolerate” setting Navalny free and decided to “get rid of the bargaining chip”. She offered no evidence to back that claim.
Asked at a regular news conference in Berlin about the claim by the Navalny team, German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said she couldn’t comment.
Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician, died February 16 in an Arctic penal colony while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated.
Prominent Russians released videos calling on authorities to release the body.
Western nations have hit Russia with more sanctions in response to Navalny’s death as well as for the invasion of Ukraine, which marked its second anniversary on Saturday.
Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Monday they were looking for a venue for a memorial service later this week.
