Washington, May 13 – White House spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that the United States is examining various options for repatriating Russian citizens convicted in other countries. exchange with the Russian Federation.
According to a White House official who serves as the National Security Council’s Strategic Communications Coordinator, the administration is considering “various options.” Kirby concluded, “I think I should pause here so as not to jeopardize these efforts by speaking about them publicly.”
Whelan was detained in Moscow on December 28, 2018, as reported by the FSB, during an espionage operation. The defense claims that the American was a victim of provocation: he was given a flash card, on which he allegedly expected to see a photo from a tourist trip to Sergiev Posad. The accused himself said in the last word that he was not involved in espionage. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and served his sentence in a colony in Mordovia.
On March 30, Russia’s FSB announced that Wall Street Journal Moscow bureau reporter Ivan Gershkovich had been arrested in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage for the US government. According to the Russian intelligence service, the American collected information that constitutes a state secret “about the activities of one of the companies belonging to the Russian military-industrial complex.” He was detained by the Lefortovo Court in Moscow for two months. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Gershkovich was caught in the act. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, confirmed that Gershkovich’s activities in Yekaterinburg had nothing to do with journalism. According to her, this is not the first time that foreign correspondent status, journalist entry visa and accreditation have been used by foreigners in Russia to cover up non-journalistic activities.
