According to a report on the US "Wall Street Journal" website on April 11, Russian diplomats said that the United States and Russia are seeking to negotiate a secret prisoner exchange.
reported that a senior Russian diplomat said on the 11th that the United States and Russia are discussing a prisoner exchange through a secret channel, which may include the release of imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovic. .
According to the TASS news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters that "dialogue on this topic is conducted through a special secret channel." He was not authorized to comment on the exchange of information or "the signals sent through this channel."
Ryabkov made the above response in response to questions about the United States’ new plan to exchange Gershkovic and American citizen Paul Whelan. Gershkovic has been detained in Russia for more than a year on espionage charges that he, the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government have strongly denied. Whelan, a former U.S. Marine and corporate security executive, is serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges that he and his family say are false.
The Office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs declined to comment on Ryabkov’s remarks.
According to reports, the United States and Russia conducted two prisoner exchanges in 2022. One was to exchange Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko for American student and former Marine Corps member Trevor Reed, and the other was to exchange Russian arms. Trader Victor Bout exchanges for American basketball player Brittany Griner.
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