Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, made a visit to Brussels on Monday to participate in several meetings. Upon her arrival at the European Council, she shook hands with its president, Charles Michel, before meeting behind closed doors. The European Council is the main decision-making body of the European Union, consisting of the heads of State or Government of all EU Member States.
European Union diplomacy chief Josep Borrell has expressed his welcome to Navalnaya at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday. Borrell stated that EU ministers will send a strong message of support to freedom fighters in Russia and honor the memory of Alexey Navalny. He also extended his “deepest condolences” to Navalnaya and promised that President Vladimir Putin and “his regime will be held accountable.”
Navalnaya had also met with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday. Von der Leyen expressed being “deeply disturbed and saddened” by the news of Navalny’s death.
In response to Navalny’s death, Germany has summoned the Russian ambassador to the country. This move comes amidst the uncertainty surrounding the cause of Navalny’s death after the Russian prison service reported it on Friday. Navalny had returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had received treatment after being poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. Upon his arrival, Navalny was quickly detained on charges he rejected as politically motivated. The events surrounding his death have sparked international outrage and calls for accountability.
(CNN’s James Frater and Eve Brennan in London contributed to this report.)
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