The Foreign Ministry announced that there are no new proposals from the United States to exchange Whelan
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The Russian Foreign Ministry has not recorded any new proposals from the United States for the exchange of Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia for espionage. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergei Ryabkov.
“The Foreign Ministry has not recently recorded through its channels any additional ideas and proposals from the American side in this regard,” he said (quote according to TASS).
On October 24, CNN reported that the United States had made a “serious offer” to Russia for Whelan’s release. According to the TV channel, the convicted American, in an August conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that work on his release was proceeding slowly. Russia, he believes, considers him “a very valuable person, so they want something valuable” in exchange for his release.
Later information about the “serious proposal” confirmed State Department representative in a comment to TASS.
Whelan was detained in Moscow at the end of 2018 on espionage charges. The defense argued that the American was the victim of provocation. Whelan himself did not admit guilt. He is currently serving a 16-year sentence in a maximum security colony in Mordovia.
American authorities regularly report efforts to return Whelan and Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkowitz to the United States. In May, CNN, citing administration sources, reported that Washington was exploring the possibility of easing sanctions against Russia to free imprisoned Americans. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on this topic.
In August, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova named speculation about the US readiness to consider the possibility of exchanging Gershkovich and Whelan with Russia. She called on Washington to focus on possible exchanges on “non-public professional dialogue exclusively through a special channel.”
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