Kremlin rejects EU demand for int'l investigation into Navalny's death

MOSCOW

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected on Tuesday top EU diplomat Josep Borrell's demand to hold an international investigation into the death of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov stressed that Russia generally considers unacceptable the language of demands, and "even more so from Mr. Borrell."

Following a meeting of the EU foreign ministers on Monday, Borrell said Russia "must allow an independent and transparent international investigation" into the circumstances of Navalny's "sudden death."

About the address of Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya published on social media, Peskov said her accusations were "unsubstantiated and groundless."

"We leave this without comment. Of course, these are absolutely unfounded, boorish accusations. ... But considering that Yulia Navalnaya was widowed literally days ago, I leave it without comment," he said.

The Russian penitentiary service announced on Friday that the 47-year-old opposition figure died in a prison colony while serving a 19-year sentence for extremism.

It added in a statement that Navalny lost consciousness after a walk in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, where the colony is located.

Russian authorities conducted several inspections to determine the facts surrounding his death.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after being treated for poisoning in a Berlin hospital. Western countries and Navalny himself blamed Russia for the poisoning, a claim the Kremlin denies.

In August 2021, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for extremism and other crimes. He was already serving an 11-year and five-month sentence for fraud.

Meanwhile, Peskov said he had no information about reports claiming former Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov who hijacked last year a military Mi-8 helicopter and gave it to Ukraine was shot to death in Spain.

"It is not a question of our agenda. We do not have any information in this regard. I don't know if there were reports via diplomatic channels," he said.