Former President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” had a hand in the death of government opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

During a Sunday interview with Howard Kurtz on Fox News, the presidential candidate was asked about Navalny’s mysterious death inside a Russian prison last month.

“Do you believe Vladimir Putin has some responsibility for the death of Alexei Navalny?” Kurtz asked.

In response, Trump said, “I don’t know, but perhaps I mean, possibly I could say, ‘probably.’ I don’t know. He’s a young man, so statistically he’d be alive for a long time. If you go by the insurance numbers, he’d be alive for another 40 years. So something happened that was unusual.”

Kurt brought up speculations about how the Kremlin tried to poison Navalny in the past and how the Russian government refused to release his body after his death. Pointing out that such moves could not have been made without the knowledge of Putin and some high ranking officials, Kurtz asked, “How could anything like that happen without Putin and high ranking Kremlin officials sanctioning it?”

Trump responded, “Well, I don’t know, you certainly can’t say for sure, but certainly that would look like something very bad happened, right?”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6349128451112

Trump has been criticized in some quarters due to his reaction on Nalvany’s death, which critics believe is soft due to his support for Putin.

In his first comment on the mysterious death last month, he alluded to his own legal troubles.

“The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our Country. It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction. Open Borders, Rigged Elections, and Grossly Unfair Courtroom Decisions are DESTROYING AMERICA. WE ARE A NATION IN DECLINE, A FAILING NATION! MAGA2024,” he said.

President Joe Biden has directly blamed Putin for Navalny’s death, as well as former U.S. presidents and top Congress members. However, the Kremlin has denied any involvement in the death.