The former British ambassador to Russia Andrew Wood has warned Alexei Navalny “won’t be the last victim of Putin’s Russia”.
Asked if he agreed with claims Alexei Navalny was a victim of orchestrated murder he told Camilla Tominey on GBNews: “Yes. And it's not the first time and it won't be the last. He is not willing to stop. In my eyes he has defined himself as essentially a traitor to Russian interests. Russia itself, and the Russian people aren't habitual killers, yet he has persuaded them the whole purpose of their life is to attack others. But the fact is, he himself is stimulated by fear. He also himself, I think, suffers from fear, because he's locked himself into a particularly vicious set of policies.”
Asked if he was concerned about the idea of a second Trump presidency he said: “Well, I'm not a fan of his. So the answer is yes. But he's a changeable sort of person. And he is also in his previous presidency, done some quite brave things and good things.”
Lord Cameron has indicated Russia will face new sanctions in the wake of the death of Navalny.
Commenting on this, Mr Wood told Camilla Tominey: “I don't think [we will see] direct consequences, but the fact that he's losing a grip on public opinion in other countries abroad is important. “The fact that he is doing his best to hide what has happened to Navalny and the way it has happened in Russia itself is indicative. He's trying to put it as something which happened wasn't his fault, because nothing ever is his fault. He hopes it all will simply disappear in terms of the Russian electorate
Asked where he felt the biggest risk was emerging in the world he added: “Well, the immediate trigger is more likely, I think, to be Iran given the general chaos that's going on there. We've got rather used to what's going on in Ukraine. I think we have been a little bit too gloomy about it because we concentrate on physical borders in Ukraine. We haven't looked sufficiently, for example, at the enormous success Ukraine has had in dealing with the Russian Navy. And that would be a long, long war, and a very threatening one for all of us.”
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