US weighs response to Navalny’s reported death

Following Friday's report of Russian opposition leader and political prisoner Alexei Navalny's death at a Siberian penal colony under suspicious circumstances, top Biden administration officials swiftly responded by emphasizing that the Kremlin was clearly to blame for the demise of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic.

But fulfilling President Joe Biden's 2021 vow to the Russia leader that Navalny's death in prison would result in «devastating» consequences for Russia will likely pose a steep challenge to the administration as it attempts to calibrate a response that is both impactful and avoids significant escalation with Moscow.

During remarks on Navalny's reported death, Biden seemed to downplay the significance of imposing the stiff repercussions he threatened during his summit with Putin in Geneva.

«That was three years ago. In the meantime, they faced a hell of a lot of consequences,» Biden said, referring to Russia's military losses and the «great sanctions» imposed «across the board» resulting from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

«And we're contemplating what else can be done,» he continued.

The administration has few reasonable options left in its toolbox.

Even though Navalny has been jailed in Russia since early 2021, repeatedly allegedly mistreated, and even went missing for three weeks in late 2023, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter say the administration had not prepared any measures to be imposed if additional harm befell him.

The officials say the U.S. is now weighing additional sanctions against human rights violators connected to his imprisonment.

The Biden administration has deployed similar sanctions as recently as August, when it announced financial penalties and visa restrictions