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Alexei Navalny died from a "sudden failure in his health" the Russian Ambassador to the UK has revealed in an exclusive interview with LBC.
Andrei Kelin sat down on Wednesday and was quizzed by Nick Ferrari on the death of the former Russian opposition leader.
Navalny died in February in a penal colony in the Arctic Circle, sparking condemnation across the world, particularly regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.
When probed, Ambassador Kelin said it was "absolutely wrong" to think something "difficult" had happened to Navalny.
"He simply died. These things happen," he said.
He added allegations from Navalny's widow, Yulia, that her husband was murdered made "no sense at all".
Mr Ferrari asked Mr Kenin why so many of Putin's opponents die in strange ways, and cited examples such as Yevgeny Prigozhin who was killed in a plane crash last year.
Navalny was Putin's arch enemy and perhaps his most vociferous critic.
Ambassador Kelin said Navalny had the "sudden failure" in his health as it was a "difficult time for him".
"He was sentenced for committing criminal acts and he was serving a long term. During serving this he has done everything to worsen because he was not obedient to the powers."
Navalny was serving 19 years on extremism charges in one of Russia's toughest penal colonies, nicknamed 'Polar Wolf'.
The colony is located in the Yamalo-Nenets region in the Arctic Circle where temperatures reach -20C.
When probed about the validity of the recent Russia election, Kenin said the results were "absolutely fair".
"The result of the election 87% in favour of Putin, with a turnout of 77%, shows that our political system is absolutely stable."
When asked about the UK's next election, Ambassador Kelin did not know who Sir Keir Starmer was.
In response to this, Ambassador Kelin said: "If he will decide to do this we will take note of that. We also have an ambassador in Moscow so we are always prepared.
He added he does not believe they will have good relations, but added he has never met him.
Ambassador Kelin also denied any Russian involvement in the circulation of stories about the health of the Princess of Wales, adding the rumours were "funny".
"This is very interesting. I have heard about that and I was amazed in fact. I'm afraid to say that probably the British media are never short of accusations against Russia."
He added the Russian embassy's website wished Kate a full recovery.
He added the aircraft did not have any equipment to "counter these things".
He also called for the "cessation of fire" in Israel, saying the country has gone "far beyond" self-defence.
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