US President Joe Biden said that the Washington administration has not given up efforts to extradite the detained Evan Gershkovich and prisoner Paul Whelan from Russia to the United States. His words are quoted White House press pool.
Asked if he had a message for Gershkowitz and Whelan, Biden said, “We’re not giving up.”
Before this, CNN channel, citing a State Department representative, said: reportedIt was stated that the USA made a “serious offer” to Russia during the discussions regarding the release of Paul Whelan.
As a State Department spokesperson told the TV station, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “remains committed to bringing Paul home.”
Paul Whelan was detained in Moscow in December 2018. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage and sent to a colony in Mordovia to serve his sentence. Whelan denies any wrongdoing.
Moscow City Court in October denied The call for the extension of the detention of American newspaper The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage. The journalist was arrested in Russia at the end of March this year. He has been detained since then and faces up to 20 years in prison. In September, Gershkovich’s lawyers filed a complaint against the decision to extend the detention by three months.
Previously in the Kremlin commented Request regarding the whereabouts of a Ukrainian journalist.