US Warns Russia of Consequences If Navalny Dies in Prison

"We have communicated to the Russian government that what happens to Mr. Navalny in their custody is their responsibility and they will be held accountable by the international community," he said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.

"In terms of the specific measures that we would take, we are looking at a variety of different costs that we would impose and I'm not going to telegraph that publicly at this point. But we have communicated that there will be consequences if Mr. Navalny dies," he added.

According to Sullivan, Washington has arrived at a conclusion that this matter should better be discussed directly with Moscow, via diplomatic channels.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced earlier that ultimatum demands to Russia voiced by a number of countries and a media campaign around Navalny were geared solely towards destabilization of the political situation in Russia.

Navalny, who received suspended sentences for embezzlement twice, was wanted in Russia for repeated violations of conditions of his conviction in the Yves Rocher case. In mid-January, he was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport upon arrival from Berlin. In early February, Moscow’s Simonovsky Court replaced Navalny’s three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence with real jail time due to multiple probation violations. Navalny is serving his sentence in penal colony number 2 in the Vladimir region.

In early April, the blogger was taken to the colony’s medial unit with symptoms of an acute respiratory disease. According to the Federal Penitentiary Service’s Vladimir region department, Navalny was brought back to the prison cell on April 9 after he had felt better. According to the agency, neither tuberculosis no coronavirus infection was confirmed. Doctors stated his health conditions was satisfactory.

EU foreign ministers will discuss on Monday the situation around Navalny, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday.

France Presse cited his interview with the German newspaper Bild when he called on the Russian authorities to provide "adequate medical assistance" to Navalny whose health condition had deteriorated.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian made a similar statement earlier on Sunday, stating he was "extremely worried".