Alexei Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, is in Brussels this Monday to attend several meetings.
Upon his arrival at the European Council, he shook hands with its president, Charles Michel, before meeting him behind closed doors. The Council is made up of the heads of state or government of all EU member states and is its main decision-making body.
On Sunday, EU diplomatic chief Joseph Borrell said he would welcome Navalnaya at Monday's EU foreign affairs committee.
“EU ministers will send strong support to freedom fighters in Russia and honor the memory of Alexei Navalny,” he added in his message on X.
Borel expressed his “deepest condolences” to Navalnaya at X, and added that President Vladimir Putin and “his regime will be held accountable.”
Navalnaya met European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday. Von der Leyen posted on X that she was “deeply saddened and saddened” by the news of Navalny's death.
For its part, Germany has summoned the Russian ambassador to the country after Navalny's death, a German foreign ministry spokesman said.
A little context: According to the Russian Prison Service, Navalny died on Friday. The cause of his death is unclear. Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he was treated for poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. Upon arrival, Navalny was quickly arrested, which he denied was politically motivated.
CNN's James Frater and Eve Brennan in London contributed to this report.
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