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Aides to Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition chief who died this month, asserted on Monday that he had been on the verge of being freed in a prisoner alternate with the West.
A Western official conversant in the negotiations mentioned “early discussions” on the potential for releasing Mr. Navalny by means of such a swap had been underway when Russian authorities reported him lifeless on Feb. 16. However the official pushed again on the Navalny crew’s portrayal of the talks as having been of their ultimate levels.
In a video posted to the Navalny crew’s YouTube channel on Monday, a high aide to Mr. Navalny portrayed the prisoner-exchange talks as proof of what she described as President Vladimir V. Putin’s motive to kill the opposition chief.
The aide, Maria Pevchikh, mentioned that Western officers had been in superior talks with the Kremlin on a deal that will have launched Mr. Navalny together with the 2 Individuals imprisoned in Russia.
As a part of that deal, Ms. Pevchikh mentioned, Germany would have launched Vadim Krasikov, the person convicted of killing a former Chechen separatist fighter in a Berlin park in 2019. Mr. Putin praised Mr. Krasikov in his interview with the previous Fox Information host Tucker Carlson this month, describing the convicted murderer as having been motivated by “patriotic sentiments.”
Ms. Pevchikh mentioned within the video that the West had been insisting on Mr. Navalny’s launch as a part of any deal to free Mr. Krasikov, whom Western officers describe as a Russian intelligence agent. By killing Mr. Navalny, she mentioned, Mr. Putin took the potential for his launch off the desk, and he deliberate to “supply another person when the time comes” to be able to convey residence Mr. Krasikov.
“Navalny was purported to be free within the coming days,” Ms. Pevchikh, the chairwoman of Mr. Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Basis, mentioned within the video. She didn’t establish the 2 Individuals she mentioned would have been exchanged together with Mr. Navalny.
The Western official mentioned that the discussions had concerned swapping Mr. Navalny, Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Road Journal, and Paul Whelan, a company safety government and former Marine, in alternate for Mr. Krasikov.
However an settlement had not appeared imminent, and it was unclear how inclined Russia and Germany had been to make such a commerce.
“No formal supply had been made, however early discussions to this impact had been underway,” the official mentioned.
The circumstances of Mr. Navalny’s dying stay shrouded in thriller. He died on Feb. 16 at a penal colony within the Arctic, in keeping with the Russian authorities. The medical report on his dying says he died of pure causes, in keeping with Navalny aides.
After a dayslong dispute with the authorities over custody of his stays, his physique was transferred to his mom, Lyudmila Navalnaya, on Saturday, his spokeswoman mentioned. Nevertheless it remained unclear whether or not his household would search to conduct an impartial post-mortem earlier than his burial.
A Kremlin spokesman didn’t reply to a request for remark.
A German authorities spokeswoman declined to remark when requested concerning the Navalny crew’s assertions at a information convention on Monday.
Mr. Navalny himself was not conscious of the small print of the talks however knew his potential launch by means of a prisoner alternate was being mentioned, in keeping with his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh.
“He understood there have been some talks occurring, however he didn’t know any particulars,” Ms. Yarmysh mentioned in a textual content message.
Ms. Pevchikh mentioned that the Russian enterprise tycoon Roman Abramovich had acted as a mediator within the West’s talks with Mr. Putin a few potential prisoner alternate to safe Mr. Navalny’s freedom. A spokeswoman for Mr. Abramovich didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The Navalny crew’s new claims got here because the plans for Mr. Navalny’s burial remained unclear. Ms. Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, posted to social media on Monday to ask for assist in lining up a funeral corridor for a service later this week.
“We’re searching for a corridor for a public farewell to Aleksei,” Ms. Yarmysh wrote. “Time: finish of this workweek. In case you have appropriate premises, please contact us.”
Mr. Navalny’s aides say the Kremlin has sought to forestall his funeral from turning right into a public occasion that would entice hundreds of mourners. Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, denied that the Kremlin was concerned.
“That is completely not our concern and never our prerogative,” Mr. Peskov advised reporters on Monday. “The top of state doesn’t regulate these points in any manner.”
Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting from Washington and Erika Solomon from Berlin.
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