European countries summon Russian diplomats over Navalny death

People gather outside the Russian embassy, following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reported by prison authorities in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence, in Warsaw, Poland, February 16, 2024. Dawid Zuchowicz/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via REUTERS

Paris, France — A host of European governments Monday summoned Russian diplomats following the prison death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said during a visit to Argentina that Russia’s ambassador in Paris would be summoned, while Norway’s foreign ministry issued a statement that it was calling on its top Russian diplomat “for a talk” about Navalny’s death.

READ: Who was Alexei Navalny and what did he say of Russia, Putin, and death?

“In the conversation, Norwegian views will be conveyed about Russian authorities’ responsibility for the death and for facilitating a transparent investigation,” Norway said, adding that the meeting had not yet taken place but would shortly.

It followed similar announcements earlier Monday by Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, saying they had summoned diplomats from Russian embassies. London had done the same Friday evening.

Navalny’s death in a remote prison in the Arctic, where the 47-year-old was serving a 19-year sentence after surviving a 2020 poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin, was announced Friday.

“The regime of Vladimir Putin has once again shown its true nature,” France’s Sejourne said Monday.

Western countries have unanimously pointed blame at the Russian authorities for his death, three years into his sentence, which deprives the opposition of its most prominent figure a month ahead of presidential elections that are expected to enhance Putin’s firm grip on power.

Finland’s foreign ministry on X, formerly Twitter, called for Russia “to release all political prisoners” while confirming it had called on the ambassador Monday.

READ: Navalny, Ninoy, and opposition leadership

“It is terrible that Alexei Navalny has paid the ultimate price for his fight for a free and democratic Russia,” Hanke Bruins Slot, the Netherlands’ foreign affairs minister, posted on X. “We strongly urge Russia to release Navalny’s body to his family and relatives.”

Earlier Monday, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in a statement he had summoned Russia’s ambassador and called for the European Union to consider “a new sanctions regime targeting the internal repression in Russia.”

On Friday, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said Madrid “demands that the circumstances” of the death be clarified.