According to the independent Russian website Agentstwo, which cites conversations with people familiar with the matter, Vladimir Putin discussed the possibility of exchanging Alexei Navalny for Russians detained in the West a few hours before the official announcement of the oppositionist's death..
The Russian president was scheduled to discuss the issue during a meeting with oligarch Roman Abramovich on the morning of February 16, shortly before the first reports of Alexei Navalny's death emerged. One source indicates that Putin agreed to such an exchange.
See also: Vladimir Putin failed. People turned off their televisions
Journalist Hristo Grozev told the agency that he heard that Putin agreed to such an exchange. According to Grozev, it may have been an act aimed at concealing his true intentions or… It is a strategic move aimed at almost ending the talks, relying on the fact that if Germany agrees to extradite Vadim Krasikov, in Navalny's absence, it will also agree to exchange someone else.Which wouldn't be very important to Vladimir Putin.
One of the portal's interlocutors thinks so When Putin learned of the West's willingness to extradite Krasikov to Russia, he ordered Navalny's killing..
According to these reports, Russia also intends to extradite imprisoned American citizens: Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal journalist Ivan Gershkovich.
See also: Vladimir Putin as a megalomaniac leader in survival mode
Talks about such an exchange have been ongoing since at least last spring.
According to the German newspaper “Bild”, Russia did not intend to allow Navalny's release despite the ongoing talks on this matter.
“Coffee enthusiast. Troublemaker. Incurable introvert. Subtly charming twitter scholar. Award-winning social mediaholic. Internet buff.”
