Secretary of State candidate Tony Blinken said on Tuesday in a confirmation hearing that it was “extraordinary the fear Vladimir Putin seems to have of a single man” – Alexey Navalny.
Why it’s important: Navalny, Russia’s most important opposition figure, returned to Russia on Sunday and was quickly arrested. He spent the previous five months recovering in Germany after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. His arrest poses a first foreign policy challenge for the Biden administration.
What it says: Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Navalny served as a voice for millions of Russians, “and his voice must be heard in Russia.”
- “Attempts to silence that voice by silencing Mr. Navalny are something we strongly condemn,” added Blinken, who noted that the arrest of Navalny and other points of tension with Russia would be “very important on the agenda for an administration.” incoming “.
- Incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan, formerly called by Immediate release of Navalny.
The last: Navalny was ordered to remain in pretrial detention for 30 days. He was officially arrested for violating the terms of a suspended prison sentence for missing an appointment in December.
It is necessary to emphasize: Blinken praised Senator Mitt Romney, who is on the committee, for being Russia’s “prescriber.” Romney was mocked for referring to Russia as “the No. 1 geopolitical enemy” in a 2012 presidential debate with Barack Obama, including Obama himself.
In depth: Bill Browder on relations between Russia and the United States after the arrest of Alexei Navalny