MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. Western countries have already built a whole political program on the basis of Alexey Navalny's death without waiting for the results of the investigation, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Russian media, including TASS.
Commenting on a proposal by EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell to add Navalny's name to a sanctions mechanism for human rights violations, Medvedev said: "All this looks surprising, because they (Western countries - TASS) don't even have data on what happened yet."
"Nevertheless, all this has already turned into a political program, all this has turned into propaganda," the politician pointed out.
Commenting on Navalny's death, Medvedev emphasized that such tragic events always evoke very different emotions. "Look at the smiling, happy face of Navalny's widow. It looks as if she has been waiting for this event to unfold in her political life all these years. And she has already spoken about it," the politician stressed. "This is all sad, I think, very sad," Medvedev added.
As for his own impression of Navalny, Medvedev noted that he has mixed feelings.
"I can't say anything good about him (Navalny - TASS), but I won't say anything bad either," the politician said.
He urged not to exaggerate the number of Navalny's supporters, pointing out that the country is now dealing with completely different issues. "If there are supporters [of Navalny], well, one should reckon with it, but do not exaggerate this factor. The country is living in a different way now," Medvedev said.
The politician emphasized that no one is trying to fight Navalny now. "No one is fighting him now, which is understandable, because the man is no longer there," he underscored.