Biden meets with family of late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny

Joe Biden has met with the family of Alexei Navalny, following the recent death of the 47-year-old political activist in a Russian prison.

The president met with Yulia Navalnaya and Dasha Navalnaya on Thursday during a trip to California, and promised to honour the legacy of the late Russian dissident.

“The President expressed his admiration for Aleksey Navalny's extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption and for a free and democratic Russia in which the rule of law applies equally to everyone,” a statement from the White House read.

“The President emphasized that Aleksey's legacy will carry on through people across Russia and around the world mourning his loss and fighting for freedom, democracy, and human rights.”

During the meeting, the White House said, Mr Biden affirmed that his administration will announce major new sanctions against Russia on Friday, in response to Navalny’s death, Russia's repression and aggression, and the “brutal and illegal” war in Ukraine.

The president met with the family of Alexei Navalny on Thursday during a trip to California

“We already have sanctions, but we are considering additional sanctions, yes,” Mr Biden said previously, noting that while the US was unsure of the circumstances of Navalny’s death were unclear, that it was “a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did”.

The meeting in California comes after Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, said had finally been shown her son’s body, a week after his death, but said that Russian authorities were seeking to “blackmail” her into burying him in a secret ceremony without mourners.

Ms Navalnaya, 69, said that she was taken to the city morgue, and that officials told her that if she doesn’t agree to