Foreign ministers Edgars Rinkēvičs of Latvia, Urmas Reinsalu of Estonia, and Gabrielius Landsbergis of Lithuania issued a joint statement on Sunday.
"Detaining Alexei Navalny by the Russian authorities is completely unacceptable. We demand his immediate release. The EU should act swiftly and if he is not released, we need to consider the imposition of restrictive measures in response to this blatant act," the statement was quoted on Foreign Ministry's website.
Russian opposition leader Alexey @navalny is on his way back to #Russia after long months of recovery from attempt to kill him. He must be allowed safe and unhindered return home. The world is watching
— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) January 17, 2021
Navalny last August was poisoned in Russia with a Novichok nerve agent. He was taken to Germany for treatment.
On Sunday, returning from Berlin, he was detained on landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
On January 18, Latvian President Egils Levits was among those condemning the actions of the Russian authorities.
The arrest of Russian opposition politician #Navalny and the media and citizens who awaited his return to Moscow is unacceptable. Regrettably the old methods die hard. I call for their immediate release and transparent international investigation into the poisoning of Navalny.
— Egils Levits (@valstsgriba) January 18, 2021