Russian spymaster says Alexei Navalny died of natural causes

Alexei Navalny was buried after a funeral that drew thousands of mourners (AP)

Russia’s spymaster has said that opposition leader Alexei Navalny died of natural causes, a statement that appeared to reflect the Kremlin’s efforts to assuage international outrage over the death of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe.

Sergei Naryshkin, the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, the top spy agency known under its Russian acronym SVR, made the statement in an interview broadcast by Russian state television.