MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2021) The Kremlin is not worried over potential mass unrest over the arrest of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, but believes calls for protests are concerning and should be analyzed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
On Monday, a Russian court ruled to keep Navalny, who recently returned from Germany, in detention for 30 days. On January 29, a Moscow court is expected to decide whether Navalny's suspended sentence should be replaced with prison time for breach of suspension conditions.
"No, we are not worried," Peskov told reporters.
The Kremlin spokesman expressed the belief that Navalny's calls on his supporters to stage protests over his arrest were "raising concerns."
"We are not an agency that could give some assessment. However, this should certainly be subject to some analysis, whether these are calls for something illegal," Peskov added.
The Kremlin spokesman firmly refuted allegations that Navalny's arrest could be caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin's "fears."
"Of course, this is nonsense. One should not associate the president with violations of Russian laws [by Navalny]. We know that the Federal Penitentiary Service has complaints, as some rules were violated," Peskov said, commenting on the claims.
