Aides to Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition chief who died this month, asserted on Monday that he had been on the verge of being freed in a prisoner alternate with the West.
A Western official aware of the negotiations stated “early discussions” on the potential for releasing Mr. Navalny via such a swap had been underway when Russian authorities reported him lifeless on Feb. 16. However the official pushed again on the Navalny staff’s portrayal of the talks as having been of their ultimate phases.
The official stated that the discussions had concerned swapping Mr. Navalny and two Individuals imprisoned in Russia — Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Avenue Journal, and Paul Whelan, a company safety govt and former Marine — in alternate for a Russian imprisoned in Germany.
However an settlement had not appeared imminent, and it was unclear how inclined Russia and Germany had been to make such a commerce.
“No formal supply had been made, however early discussions to this impact had been underway,” the official stated.
In a video posted to the Navalny staff’s YouTube channel on Monday, a prime aide to Mr. Navalny portrayed the prisoner-exchange talks as proof of what she described as President Vladimir V. Putin’s motive to kill the opposition chief.
The aide, Maria Pevchikh, stated that Western officers had been in superior talks with the Kremlin on a deal that will have launched Mr. Navalny together with the 2 Individuals imprisoned in Russia.
As a part of that deal, Ms. Pevchikh stated, Germany would have launched Vadim Krasikov, the person convicted of killing a former Chechen separatist fighter in a Berlin park in 2019. Mr. Putin praised Mr. Krasikov in his interview with the previous Fox Information host Tucker Carlson this month, describing the convicted murderer as having been motivated by “patriotic sentiments.”
Ms. Pevchikh stated within the video that the West had been insisting on Mr. Navalny’s launch as a part of any deal to free Mr. Krasikov, whom Western officers describe as a Russian intelligence agent. By killing Mr. Navalny, she stated, Mr. Putin took the potential for his launch off the desk, and he deliberate to “supply another person when the time comes” so as to carry house Mr. Krasikov.
“Navalny was purported to be free within the coming days,” Ms. Pevchikh, the chairwoman of Mr. Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Basis, stated within the video. She didn’t determine the 2 Individuals she stated would have been exchanged together with Mr. Navalny.
The circumstances of Mr. Navalny’s demise stay shrouded in thriller. He died on Feb. 16 at a penal colony within the Arctic, in keeping with the Russian authorities. The medical report on his demise says he died of pure causes, in keeping with Navalny aides.
After a dayslong dispute with the authorities over custody of his stays, his physique was transferred to his mom, Lyudmila Navalnaya, on Saturday, his spokeswoman stated. However it remained unclear whether or not his household would search to conduct an impartial post-mortem earlier than his burial.
A Kremlin spokesman didn’t reply to a request for remark.
A German authorities spokeswoman declined to remark when requested in regards to the Navalny staff’s assertions at a information convention on Monday.
Mr. Navalny himself was not conscious of the small print of the talks however knew his potential launch via a prisoner alternate was being mentioned, in keeping with his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh.
“He understood there have been some talks happening, however he didn’t know any particulars,” Ms. Yarmysh stated in a textual content message.
Ms. Pevchikh stated that the Russian enterprise tycoon Roman Abramovich had acted as a mediator within the West’s talks with Mr. Putin a few potential prisoner alternate to safe Mr. Navalny’s freedom. A spokeswoman for Mr. Abramovich didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The Navalny staff’s new claims got here because the plans for Mr. Navalny’s burial remained unclear. Ms. Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, posted to social media on Monday to ask for assist in lining up a funeral corridor for a service later this week.
“We’re on the lookout for a corridor for a public farewell to Aleksei,” Ms. Yarmysh wrote. “Time: finish of this workweek. You probably have appropriate premises, please contact us.”
Mr. Navalny’s aides say the Kremlin has sought to stop his funeral from turning right into a public occasion that would entice 1000’s of mourners. Mr. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, denied that the Kremlin was concerned.
“That is completely not our difficulty and never our prerogative,” Mr. Peskov advised reporters on Monday. “The pinnacle of state doesn’t regulate these points in any manner.”
Julian E. Barnes contributed reporting from Washington and Erika Solomon from Berlin.
