US President Joe Biden has met Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya in San Francisco.
The president also confirmed that new sanctions will be imposed on Russia in response to Navalny’s death.
– I had the honor to meet Alexei Navalny’s wife and daughter and said the obvious, he was a man of incredible courage, says Biden.
In a press release, the White House told about the unannounced meeting between the president and Navalny’s wife. Also present at the meeting was his daughter, Dasha Navalnaya.
The daughter is studying at Stanford University in California and earlier in the day Yulia Navalny announced that she traveled there to meet her.
Photos that President Biden shared on social media show the three sitting and conversing in a room. Biden writes that he regretted the grief and admired Alexei Navalny’s work. Afterwards, Biden commented on the meeting to an NBC News reporter.
– I had the honor of meeting Alexei Navalny’s wife and daughter and said the obvious, he was a man of incredible courage. It’s great to see that both his wife and daughter also live up to that, says Biden.
The President’s meeting with Yuliya Navalnaya and the daughter had not been communicated in advance, nor was it included in the President’s official calendar.
Promised sanctions against Russia
Biden not only commented on the meeting itself, but also promised action.
– We will announce sanctions against Putin tomorrow, who is responsible for his death, says Biden.
The White House writes that Navalny’s legacy lives on through people around the world and in Russia who fight for freedom, democracy and human rights.
The press release also confirmed the sanctions that Biden promised. Major sanctions will be imposed on Russia tomorrow, as a response to Navalny’s death and Russia’s war of invasion of Ukraine.
Biden, like many other world leaders and Navalny’s family, has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death.