Russian President Vladimir Putin faced several questions about the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny during Putin's summit with President Biden in Geneva on Wednesday — unsurprisingly, he didn't exactly own up to any wrongdoing.
U.S. officials, including Biden, have repeatedly condemned Russia's persecution of Navalny, especially after the U.S. concluded earlier this year that the Kremlin was behind Navalny's poisoning. At Putin's closely-watched meeting with Biden, reporters pressed him on Russia's treatment of the opposition leader.
Putin blamed Navalny for failing to properly register with authorities when he went to Germany after being poisoned with a nerve agent. "This man knew that he was breaking the law," said Putin when asked about Navalny's imprisonment. "He wanted, consciously, to break the law" by going abroad for treatment, Putin asserted.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Russian president then pivoted to criticize the U.S. justice system. ABC News' Rachel Scott asked "the list of your political opponents who are dead, imprisoned, or jailed is long ... what are you so afraid of?," and Putin answered by invoking the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He noted that some rioters were arrested after attacking the Capitol, saying "many people are facing the same things that we do."
Biden will hold a separate press conference to discuss his meeting with his Russian counterpart.
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
Facial recognition: a revolution in policingTalking Point All 43 police forces in England and Wales are set to be granted access, with those against calling for increasing safeguards on the technology
-
Sudoku hard: December 14, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Did Trump just end the US-Europe alliance?Today's Big Question New US national security policy drops ‘grenade’ on Europe and should serve as ‘the mother of all wake-up calls’
-
Is conscription the answer to Europe’s security woes?Today's Big Question How best to boost troop numbers to deal with Russian threat is ‘prompting fierce and soul-searching debates’
-
Trump peace deal: an offer Zelenskyy can’t refuse?Today’s Big Question ‘Unpalatable’ US plan may strengthen embattled Ukrainian president at home
-
Vladimir Putin’s ‘nuclear tsunami’ missileThe Explainer Russian president has boasted that there is no way to intercept the new weapon
-
The Baltic ‘bog belt’ plan to protect Europe from RussiaUnder the Radar Reviving lost wetland on Nato’s eastern flank would fuse ‘two European priorities that increasingly compete for attention and funding: defence and climate’
-
How should Nato respond to Putin’s incursions?Today’s big question Russia has breached Nato airspace regularly this month, and nations are primed to respond
-
Russia’s war games and the threat to NatoIn depth Incursion into Poland and Zapad 2025 exercises seen as a test for Europe
-
The mission to demine UkraineThe Explainer An estimated quarter of the nation – an area the size of England – is contaminated with landmines and unexploded shells from the war
