Biden administration tells Russia to free Navalny and protesters in stark departure from Trump era

The Biden administration has reaffirmed its calls for Russia to immediately release political opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his supporters who have been detained for protesting his incarceration.

The new president’s forceful denunciation of Russia’s newest manifestation of political repression marks a sharp departure from his predecessor, who would not say last September that Mr Navalny had been poisoned by Russian government agents, as had been widely reported and speculated.

“We call on Russian authorities to release all those detained for exercising their universal rights and for the immediate and unconditional release of Aleksey Navalny,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday, echoing a statement from the State Department from over the weekend.

Ms Psaki reiterated calls for Russia to “cooperate” with the international investigation into Mr Navalny’s poisoning in August 2020 and to “credibly explain” the use of a chemical weapon, Novichok, on one of its own citizens.

Last September, Mr Trump jumped on reporters for asking him about Mr Navalny’s poisoning and whether the Russian government had been behind the attack. The former president told the press they should be more focused on the wrongdoings of China than Russia.

“It’s tragic. It’s terrible, it shouldn’t happen. We haven’t had any proof yet, but I will take a look,” Mr Trump said of Mr Navalny’s poisoning.