National security adviser says the White House is looking at options if Navalny dies in Russian custody

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“We have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and that they will be held accountable by the international community,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union”. “In terms of the specific measures we would take, we are looking at a number of different charges that we would impose and I am not going to wire that up publicly at this point.”

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

Navalny’s supporters have said the 44-year-old Kremlin critic’s health is deteriorating rapidly, with his press secretary saying he is “dying” and his doctors saying medical tests show he is at a growing risk of kidney failure and heart problems. The doctors wrote a letter to the Russian prison services (FSIN) on Saturday asking to speak to him. CNN cannot independently verify Navalny’s health status.

Navalny said in a post on his official Instagram account on Friday that he is under threat of force-feeding as he continues with a hunger strike. He had returned to Russia in January after hospitalization in Germany, where he was recovering from a nerve infection attributed to the Kremlin.

Navalny's life is Putin's
President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Navalny’s situation was “completely unfair and totally inappropriate,” but declined to weigh further. He did not bring up Navalny in comments on sanctions in Russia this week, and the topic was not discussed on Tuesday during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the White House and Kremlin’s reading of the talk.

Asked by Bash why Biden had not used his platform this week to request Navalny’s release, Sullivan said the White House had determined that private communications were more effective.

“We have actually judged that direct communication with the Russian government on this issue – including both how we see it, how our allies and partners see it, and what could happen if something terrible happened to Mr Navalny. death – and we have ruled that rather than just making general statements in public, the best way to address this issue is privately and through diplomatic channels directly to the highest levels of the Russian government, ”Sullivan said.

In his phone conversation with Putin, Biden suggested holding a summit in a third country in the coming months. Later, the White House specified that the possible summit would take place in Europe if it became a reality.

Sullivan declined to say on Sunday whether Biden would still agree to a meeting with Putin if Navalny died in prison.

“There is currently no top in the books,” he said. ‘It’s something we’re talking about. And that summit would of course have to take place under the right circumstances in a way that could really help the relationship move forward. ‘

“But I don’t go into hypotheses 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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