U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” did not order the killing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to reports from U.S. media this Saturday.

However, U.S. officials have been unable to determine the exact cause of Navalny’s death in February, the reports stated.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a report circulated among various U.S. government agencies does not absolve Putin of responsibility, but does state that he did not directly order the killing of the opposition figure.

President Joe Biden has directly blamed Putin for Navalny’s death and his administration has imposed several sanctions on Russia in retaliation.

When asked during a press conference whether he believed the Russian opposition leader’s death was an “assassination,” Biden responded, “We don’t know exactly what happened, but there’s no doubt that Navalny’s death is a result of something done by Putin and his thugs.”

According to Russian penitentiary services, Navalny, aged 47, died after feeling unwell following a walk in the prison where he was being held. Despite efforts by medical staff to revive him for over half an hour, he succumbed.

In December last year, Navalny was transferred from a prison in the Vladimir region, less than 200 kilometers from Moscow, to a facility in Karp, in the Arctic Circle near the Ural Mountains.

Navalny had previously survived a 2020 assassination attempt involving the chemical agent Novichok, and his health had been a growing concern after he went on a hunger strike between March and April 2021, during which he lost a significant amount of weight.

This Friday, former U.S. President Donald Trump accepted a debate challenge from the current U.S. President, Joe Biden, proposing it be held at the White House any day from Monday to Friday of next week.

“I am ready to do it Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, or Friday night on national television… We’ll do it at the White House. That would actually be very convenient,” Trump stated outside the New York courthouse where he is currently facing criminal charges.

The Republican ex-president, who is being tried for falsifying accounting records to buy the silence of a porn actress and protect his 2016 election campaign, repeatedly challenged Biden during his remarks: “I’m ready. Just tell me where,” he said, adding he would be available “even tonight” (Friday 26th).

“He (Biden) said today ‘I’d love to debate,’ but I don’t think he will. I don’t think he has that confidence. That’s just how it is. I’m ready, willing, and I see myself as capable, but I don’t see him that way. Maybe next week he’ll agree, but I doubt it,” Trump commented.

Furthermore, he referred again to his ongoing trial in New York, which was concluding its second week on Friday, as a “politically motivated and well-coordinated attack” against him.

“I’m here because of a Biden indictment trying to win the elections. I invited him to come to court,” the Republican politician remarked.

Regarding Biden’s proposal, this is the first time the president has explicitly expressed his willingness to sit down for a debate with Trump, having previously avoided committing to it and conditioning his participation on the “behavior” of his Republican rival.

Until now, Biden’s campaign had questioned Trump’s ability to adhere to the established rules of a potential debate, and until this point, had not outlined any specific plans regarding it.