Navalny conveys gratitude to Finnish president

The office of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is now undergoing treatment in Germany, expressed gratefulness to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö for his initiative regarding the treatment of Navalny, reported the national broadcaster Yle.

Earlier, on Friday, President Sauli Niinistö held separate telephone conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and discussed the situation of Alexei Navalny and the question of organising his healthcare.

On Saturday morning, Navalny’s medical evacuation flight, paid for by the German non-governmental organisation Cinema for Peace, landed at Tegel Airport in Berlin.

The office of Navalny told the Yle that it was grateful for Niinistö’s help in getting Russian officials to allow Navalny to fly to Germany for medical treatment.

Navalny’s close aide Leonid Volkov told the Yle in Berlin that Navalny’s office appreciated Niinistö´s phone call to Putin on behalf of Navalny.

“A big thank you goes to Niinistö for calling Putin and discussing his transfer to Berlin,” Volkov told the Yle on Monday.