Navalny, who has been on hunger strike for almost three weeks, said in an Instagram post that an official told him that his health was deteriorating and that he could be forced to eat if he continued to eat. Navalny asked his doctor to see him after receiving severe back pain and numbness in his legs in prison. Navalny’s wife said she had speech problems.
Navalny’s doctor said on Saturday that “he can die at any time.”
Biden’s comments Saturday at a golf club in Wilmington, Delaware, come just days after the president imposed new sanctions on the Kremlin and expelled Russian diplomats from the United States. The Biden administration is trying to thwart the Kremlin in connection with its attempts to intervene in the 2020 elections, SolarWinds cyber espionage efforts and the country’s occupation of Crimea, among others. In response, Russia expelled US diplomats and banned several prominent US officials from Russia, including Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do that. I chose to be proportionate, “Biden said on Thursday. “The United States is not looking to begin a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia. We want a stable, predictable relationship. ”
Biden made no mention of Navalny in a speech about Russia on Thursday, and a reading of his call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin made no specific mention of Navalny, but the Biden administration has previously called for his release. Biden expressed concern about the Kremlin’s treatment of Navalny in his first call with Putin as president in January. The administration also condemned Russia for arresting thousands of protesters marching in support of Navalny in January.