National Security Adviser says White House examines options if Navalny dies in Russian custody

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“I have told the Russian government that what is happening to Mr Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash of the “State of the Union”. “As for the specific measures we would take, we are looking at a variety of different costs that we would impose and I will not publicly telegraph at this time.”

“But I have communicated that there will be consequences if Mr Navalny dies,” he added.

Navalny’s supporters say the 44-year-old Kremlin critic’s health is deteriorating rapidly, with his press secretary saying he is “dying,” and his doctors say medical tests show he has an increased risk of kidney failure and heart problems. Doctors wrote a letter to the Russian penitentiary services (FSIN) on Saturday requesting access to it. CNN is not able to independently check Navalny’s health.

Navalny said in a post on his official Instagram account on Friday that he is threatened with forced feeding while continuing a hunger strike. He returned to Russia in January after being hospitalized in Germany, where he was recovering from a nervous breakdown, which was blamed on the Kremlin.

Navalny's life is Putin's
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Navalny’s situation was “totally unfair and totally inappropriate”, but declined to comment further. He did not raise Navalny during remarks about Russia’s sanctions this week, and the subject was not the subject of a phone call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to readings from the White House and Kremlin talks.

Asked by Bash why Biden did not use his platform to demand Navalny’s release this week, Sullivan said the White House has determined that private communications are more efficient.

“In fact, we have issued a direct communication to the Russian government on this issue – including both the way we see it, how our allies and partners see it, and what could happen if something terrible happens to it. Mr Navalny … we are dying – and we believe that, rather than making general statements in public, the best way to resolve this issue is privately and through diplomatic channels, directly at the higher levels of the Russian government. ” said Sullivan.

In his phone call with Putin, Biden proposed holding a summit in the coming months in a third country. The White House later said the potential summit would take place in Europe if it materialized.

Sullivan declined on Sunday to say whether Biden would agree to meet with Putin if Navalny dies in prison.

“There is currently no book summit,” he said. “It’s something we’re talking about. And that summit should take place, of course, under the right circumstances, in a way that could actually move the relationship forward.”

“But I’m not going to make assumptions about when or if the summit is likely to take place,” Sullivan said.

CNN’s Anna Chernova and Zahra Ullah contributed to this report.

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