President Biden never brought up the plight of Alexei Navalny and other political prisoners in his call Tuesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the of Russia’s most famous dissidents told Newsmax.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, imprisoned under Putin from 2003-2013, made this observation in a statement exclusive to Newsmax shortly after the White House released a readout of the Putin-Biden telephone call Tuesday morning.
“Today in Russia the health and even the life of political prisoners depend on the attention of the world leaders to their situation,” read his statement, referring to the uncertain condition of Navalny in Russia’s notorious IK-2 prison.
“The entire human rights community very much await that Mr Biden, [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, [French President Emmanuel] Macron and other leaders will ask the question in each of their conversations with Mr. Putin,” wrote Khodorkovsky.
According to the readout provided by the White House, Biden and Putin “discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty.”
Biden did underscore, the readout read, “the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions.”
He also proposed a summit meeting in a third country to discuss “the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia.”
Following his release from prison in 2013, Khodorkovsky, now 57, was exiled from his country and settled in London. The founder of “Open Russia” to promote reforms to Russian civil society, Khodorkovsky has been dubbed “the Kremlin’s leading critic-in-exile” by the Economist.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
Source: Newmax
