Luis Ayllón
The Russian ambassador in Madrid, Yuri Klimenko, went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday morning, after being summoned on Monday by the Spanish Government to ask for explanations for the death of the opponent Alexei Navalni, when he was in a prison in that country. country.
Diplomatic sources indicated to The Diplomat that Klimenko was received by “a senior official in the Ministry”, without specifying whether he was the STate Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Diego Martínez Belío or a general director.
Contrary to what happened at the end of November, when Minister Albares was the one who personally met with the Israeli ambassador in Madrid, after having summoned her to the Department, during the crisis between Spain and Israel due to the conflict in Gaza, this time, the Government decided to lower the level of the person in charge of expressing its protest to Russia.
The Diplomat was able to learn from reliable sources that the person who received the ambassador was Carlos Moreno, general director for North America, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific, to whom relations with Russia depend at the Ministry.
The diplomatic sources consulted indicated that, in the conversation with Klimenko, a message was sent to him “in line with what was stated by Albares”, who on Monday, from Brussels, had demanded that Russia explain the circumstances of Navalny’s death “as much as possible.” earlier and credibly.
The Foreign Ministry, who last Friday, after the news of the death of the opposition leader, had asked on the social network X for “clarification of the circumstances of his death”, insisted on Monday that the “person ultimately responsible is obviously the one who unjustly put him in prison for political reasons”.
The Spanish Government has taken the same measure as those of the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland or the Baltic Countries, to demand explanations from Vladimir Putin, and supports the adoption of possible new European sanctions against Russia.
At the moment, the Spanish authorities are not considering taking another diplomatic step, calling our country’s ambassador in Moscow, Marcos Gómez, for consultations, in order to continue having a dialogue with the Kremlin.
On Monday, Marcos Gómez placed a bouquet of flowers in memory of Navalni, at the Solovetski monument in the Russian capital, according to the diplomatic legation itself in X.
The murder of Villajoyosa
On the other hand, in relation to the shooting death in Villajoyosa (Alicante) of a person who is thought to be the Russian pilot, Maxim Kuzminov, who defected from Ukraine last summer with the helicopter he was piloting, the Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov said yesterday that he had “no information on that matter.” Nor did the Russian Embassy in Madrid comment on that issue.
Russian intelligence calls Kuzminov a “traitor” and “criminal,” in the words of the director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Narishkin, who noted that “he became a moral corpse the moment he planned his dirty and terrible crime,” according to the Russian media ‘Pravda’.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksei Danilov, indicated that, after defecting, Kuzminov was offered to stay in Ukrainian territory, understanding that he would be protected there.
The Guardia Civil yesterday continued to investigate whether the body of the 33-year-old man found dead on February 13 with several gunshot wounds in a garage in the town of Villajoyosa is that of Kuzminov.
