Alexei Navalny / Biden is considering additional sanctions against Russia

The president of the USA Joe Biden stated on Monday (2/19) that “is considering additional sanctions” against Russia, following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Siberian prison where he was being held.

“We already have sanctions in place, but we are currently thinking about additional ones, yes”replied Biden, who has already directly blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s death last week, speaking to reporters in Washington, RFI reported, citing Agence France-Presse.

The US and European Union have already imposed a series of sanctions against Moscow, since the war that led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine broke out on February 24, 2022.

President Biden said on Saturday that he expressed to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky his “confidence” that US military aid to Kiev, which is currently blocked by the House of Representatives, will continue. , approved a new military aid package of $60 billion for Ukraine, which Kiev is desperately seeking from the US and its Western allies.

But House Republican Majority Leader Mike Johnson, refuses to hold any vote on this plan. Joe Biden said on Monday that “would be happy” to discuss with Johnson, whose positions are influenced by the Republican primary favorite in the run-up to the November presidential election, former President Donald Trump.

Trump demands that Congress also approve the tightening of legislation on migration before any new financial aid to Ukraine.

“The way they (Republicans) they look away from the threat that Russia represents, the way they look away from NATO and our obligations, it’s just shocking,” the US president said during a campaign event for his re-election in the presidential election in November.

Biden’s comments about the possibility of additional sanctions come after growing calls for new sanctions by many European Union countries, including Germany, after Navalny’s death.

As reported by the Washington Times, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday that he would seek a new package of sanctions, possibly freezing assets and imposing a travel ban on Russian prison officials linked to Navalny’s death.