Biden Warns of Consequences if Alexei Navalny Dies

LEMIRE: “Mr. President, just a quick follow-up on the same theme of consequences. You said just now that you spoke to him a lot about human rights. Why did you say would happen if opposition leader Alexei Navalny dies?”
Biden: “I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia. I’ll go back to the same point. What do you think happens when he is saying it is not about hurting Navalny, all the stuff he says to rationalize the treatment of Navalny, and then he dies in prison? I pointed out to him that it matters a great deal when a country, in fact — and they asked me why I thought it was important to continue to have problems with the president of Syria. I said because it’s violation of international norm, it’s called Chemical Weapons Treaty. Can’t be trusted. It is about trust. It is about their ability to influence other nations in a positive way.”