Biden’s aide denounces arrest of Putin critic Navalny

Alexey Navalny was arrested upon landing at Moscow airport on Sunday from five months spent in Germany recovering from a poison attack by a nerve agent. In a first foreign policy comment from the incoming US administration, Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan joined European countries in demanding the Kremlin critic’s immediate release and the perpetrators “of the outrageous attack on his life” held accountable. The Russian foreign ministry advised foreign critics not to “encroach on national legislation of sovereign states but to address their own problems.” The EU is calling for new sanctions on Russia, which could impact a huge $11.6bn project for a gas pipeline from Russia to Germany.