Putin Might Not Guarantee Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Will Leave Jail Alive

 Russian President Vladimir Putin stated he could not warranty opposition leader Alexei Navalny would leave jail alive and denied ordering an assassination try on the anti-corruption crusader.

Putin's remarks, made in an interview with NBC News that aired in part on Monday, mark a clean provocation from the Russian autocrat as he prepares to take a seat down with U.S. President Joe Biden for a high-stakes summit this week.

The two leaders will meet June sixteen in Geneva, Switzerland, amid escalating tensions over the Kremlin's cyberattacks and election interference in the U.S. and Putin's efforts to stifle dissent inside Russia.

Navalny, an activist and one of Putin's fiercest critics, returned to Russia from Germany in January after recuperating from poisoning with a nerve agent. He was detained quickly after his arrival in Moscow and sentenced to two years and eight months in jail for violating the terms of his probation whilst he was treated abroad.

Navalny initially went on a starvation strike, and his allies say he came close to dying before ending his strike on the recommendation of doctors.

Asked if he should guarantee Navanly would leave jail alive, Putin claimed he had no say over the matter.

"Look, such decisions in this country are not made via the president," Putin said.

Pressed on Navalny's status, Putin said: "He will not be treated any worse than anybody else."

Navalny's case is possibly to be one of many flashpoints between Biden and Putin during Wednesday's meeting.

The U.S. brain community has determined with "high confidence" that Russia's Federal Security Service used the nerve agent Novichok to poison Navalny last August. The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Russia in the wake of that finding.