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Merkel ‘let down’ Navalny, should have sent him to Russia earlier, says speaker

If the time for Navalny’s return was chosen deliberately, "there can only be pity" for the opposition figure, the politician believes

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. German authorities should have realized that Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny is on probation and should have sent him to Russia earlier, Speaker of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Vyacheslav Volodin said Tuesday.

"The countries that instructed him, took part in the film shooting (about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged palace - TASS) and then sent him to us, they managed to send him bypassing all controls and turnstiles and board him on the plane. They should have understood that he is on probation, he should report himself [to law enforcement agencies]. But why are they acting so crudely to violate our legislation. He should have been sent earlier," he said. "Ms. Merkel (German Chancellor Angela Merkel - TASS) hosted him there. She should realize that she let him down, while her intelligence services are falling short."

If the time for Navalny’s return was chosen deliberately, "there can only be pity" for the opposition figure, the politician believes. "And we should feel pity for him because this person, as far as I understand in any case, is despised for his choice to work with foreign intelligence services and agencies. <…> But should double pity him if this story was prepared for him, while they understood how it should end or overestimated themselves," he concluded.