U.S. holds 60 Russian hostages-Moscow
2022.12.20 03:13
U.S. holds 60 Russian hostages-Moscow
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, an illegal global search for Russians by U.S. intelligence agencies resulted in the imprisonment of more than 60 Russian “hostages” in the United States.
Vershinin made these remarks in an interview with Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA, which was published on Tuesday. At the same time that Washington is looking for a new prisoner swap with Moscow, there is speculation about which prisoners Russia might want freed in such a deal.
Vershinin stated, but did not discuss the potential scope of such an exchange:
“The total number of Russian citizens held hostage in U.S. jails is greater than 60.”
Although he cited widespread anti-Russian sentiment in the United States and stated that was his opinion, he did not provide any evidence that the Russians’ sentences were politically motivated or otherwise unfair.
In a prisoner swap with Brittney Griner, an American basketball player imprisoned in Russia for drug offenses, the United States released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout earlier this month. Bout had been serving a 25-year sentence.
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According to reports in American media, Russia had refused to include Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who was found guilty of espionage in 2020, in the same exchange.
The United States of America has stated that it is actively engaged in efforts to free Whelan, and Whelan denies any wrongdoing.
In exchange for Whelan, Russia had reportedly requested the release of Vadim Krasikov, who was found guilty in Berlin in 2019 of the murder of a Chechen dissident.
