When Vladimir Putin says, “Believe me or not,” you truly have but one option. So when Putin ends his tale that in the days before Russian dissident Alexei Navalny died in a Siberia prison, his officials started to pursue a prisoner swap with Western government for Russians they were holding, you gotta believe him, right?
According to NBC News, Putin noted in a brief press appearance as he celebrated his fourth re-election as Russian President, that “several days before Mr. Navalny perished, I was told by some of my colleagues … that there is an idea to exchange Mr. Navalny for some people in prison in Western countries,” adding, “Believe me or not, the person talking to me hardly finished their sentence when I said: ‘I agree.’ But unfortunately, the thing that happened happened.