“Throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks.”
American Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage in the Russian Federation, accused US officials of treason because they still cannot change him and return him home. This is what he’s talking about aforementioned In an interview with the BBC.
“Serious betrayal. This is extremely frustrating,” Whelan said by phone.
He explained that Washington had several “serious offers” on swaps, but that they were “not what the Russians wanted.”
“So they (US officials – socialbites.ca) continue to review options to see which one will work. The problem is, my life these days is passing by… Five years [прошло]”, emphasized the American.
HE compared He admitted that the US was trying to “throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks” and that he was afraid of remaining at the back of the queue during inter-country prisoner exchanges.
Several people were exchanged between Russia and the United States during Whelan’s time serving his sentence. Russia in 2022 was traded American sailor Trevor Reed against Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. Moscow at the beginning of December last year sent to the homeland of American basketball player Brittney Greiner, convicted of drug trafficking, and to the Washington of Russian Viktor Bout, imprisoned in the United States for illegal arms smuggling and support of terrorism. Whelan’s name was included in the final negotiations, but it was not possible to release him.
“We want to reach an agreement”
Whelan was detained in Moscow in 2018. In 2020, the Moscow City Court sentenced him to 16 years in a maximum security colony under Art. 276 of the Criminal Code (espionage). The American was sent to one of the Mordovian colonies to serve his sentence.
The Wall Street Journal quotes a source in the spring WroteIt was stated that Russia wanted to exchange Whelan with former FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for liquidating Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Georgian citizen of Chechen origin. Vladimir Putin called the Georgian one of the organizers of the terrorist attack in the Moscow metro.
Vladimir Putin during the “Results of the Year” on December 14 (This is what the direct line and the president’s big press conference are now called) He said Moscow was not against Whelan’s replacement, but on favorable terms.
“Why do you think they (Americans arrested in Russia – socialbites.ca) do not return to their homeland? [А] Why shouldn’t they commit crimes on the territory of the Russian Federation? But this is all rhetoric. But it can’t be said that we refuse to return them.
We do not refuse. We want to reach an agreement and these agreements need to be mutually acceptable and suitable for both parties. <…> “The American side must hear us,” Putin said.
He added that Russia and the United States are in dialogue on this issue, albeit “difficult.” Noting that the parties spoke “a language that each other can understand”, the Russian leader emphasized that decisions regarding the exchange should be based on “humanitarian considerations”.
Washington’s approach
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in August spoke Whelan is on the phone. The diplomat urged the American to keep his faith and said that Washington was doing everything possible to return him as soon as possible. Whelan’s brother David described the conversation as “long and frank.”
The CNN source explained that this was the second phone call Whelan had with Blinken while he was serving his sentence. CNN noted that an American could make a call from his colony in Mordovia, but did not specify exactly how the connection with Washington was organized.
A Wall Street Journal source from the White House in early April saidThe USA is open to “creative solutions” for the Whelan exchange:
“We are constantly evaluating what options that do not violate the law may be timely and beneficial.”
whelan reportedAt the Mordovian colony, he said, staff woke him up at night, did not provide him with an English-speaking doctor, and generally treated him badly. America in 2022 hit to the prison hospital. At the end of November this year was attacked A 50-year-old prisoner from Turkey. According to Whelan, he did this because he disliked the United States.