Sullivan: ‘There will be consequences’ if Navalny dies

U.S. National Security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that “there will be consequences” if Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies while imprisoned in Russia.

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Dana Bash asked Sullivan what action the U.S. would take if Navalny dies, noting that representatives for Navalny have said he is near death.

“Well, first, we joined with the European Union and many other like-minded democracies around the world to impose sanctions for what the Russian government has done to Navalny, for the use of a chemical weapon against him, which is in contravention of international laws,” Sullivan said. “Second, we have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr. Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community.”

“In terms of the specific measures that we would undertake we are looking at a variety of different costs that we would impose. And I’m not going to telegraph that publicly at this point, but we have communicated that there will be consequences if Mr. Navalny dies,” Sullivan added.

Bash noted that President Biden did not appear to bring up Navalny during his recent call with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Sullivan said the government had made the decision that “the best way to deal with this issue is privately and through diplomatic channels.”

On Sunday, Russian physician Yaroslav Ashikhmin said Navalny could “die at any moment” due to kidney failure brought on by his continued hunger strike.

“A patient with this level of potassium should be observed in intensive care, as fatal arrhythmia can develop at any moment. Death by a cardiac arrest. The publication is coordinated with the relatives of Alexey Navalny,” Ashikhmin wrote in a Facebook post.