China refuses to comment on Navalny's death... "Russia's internal affairs"

As Alexei Navalny, the greatest rival of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in prison, tensions between the West and Russia escalated, while China refused to comment on the matter, AFP reported on the 17th.

AFP stated that the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to their inquiry about Navalny by saying, "This is Russia's internal affair. We will not comment."

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Navalny, who founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation in 2011, led anti-government movements by exposing corruption among high-ranking Russian officials and was considered Putin's biggest political opponent. In August 2020, he suddenly collapsed on a plane due to poisoning symptoms and was transferred to Germany for treatment. In January 2022, he was sentenced to prison for fraud and contempt of court charges and was serving his sentence. Earlier, the Russian Federal Prison Service announced on the 16th (local time) that Navalny had died at the No. 3 prison in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the northernmost Siberian region of Russia.

The West blamed President Putin for Navalny's death and strongly condemned it. As suspicions of foul play spread, Russia vehemently rejected the claims as unacceptable.

Meanwhile, China has been strengthening its relationship with Russia, which is under Western sanctions due to the Ukraine invasion. About seven months after President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia in March last year, President Putin visited China in October of the same year to reaffirm cooperation between the two countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.