The Kremlin on Tuesday brushed off calls from US and European officials to release opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was arrested after returned to Russia from Germany following treatment for nerve agent poisoning, calling the situation with Navalny “an absolutely internal matter.”
Statements have come from around the globe condemning the arrest and calling for the immediate release of Navalny, who blames his poisoning on President Vladimir Putin's government.
They add to the existing tensions between Russia and the West, with some EU countries suggesting the imposition of additional sanctions against Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday that “we can't and are not going to take these statements into account.”
“We are talking about a fact of non-compliance with the Russian law by a citizen of Russia. This is an absolutely internal matter and we will not allow anyone to interfere in it and do not intend to listen to such statements,” Peskov told reporters. Navalny was detained at passport control at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport after flying in Sunday evening from Berlin, where he was treated following the poisoning in August.