(EFE).- Russia rejected this Saturday as media “speculation” a possible exchange of American citizens detained or imprisoned for espionage in this country for hackers Russians held by the US.
“Such speculations about possible exchanges of prisoners between Russia and the United States appear regularly in the American media. As we have said on several occasions, this occurs only for internal political reasons in Washington,” Maria Zajárova, a foreign spokeswoman, told the official news agency. RIA Novosti.
The Russian diplomat lamented that for Washington “what is important is not the fate of certain people, but gaining points on the political level.”
“We again call on the US side in terms of possible exchanges to focus on professional dialogue exclusively through the special channels established by the presidents of Russia and the US in 2021” during their summit in Geneva, he stressed.
He recalled that it was “silent diplomacy” that achieved the first exchange of ex-marine Trevor Reed and the Russian pilot Konstantín Yaróshenko in 2022 -the first prisoner exchange between the two powers in twelve years-, and later between the basketball player Brittney Griner and the arms dealer Víctor But, known as the “merchant of death”.
The US press reported this week on a possible exchange between several Russian ‘hackers’ in prison in the US and two Americans: Evan Gershkovich and Pau Whelan.
“Such speculations about possible prisoner swaps between Russia and the US appear regularly in the US media,” the foreign spokeswoman said.
Russian security forces arrested Gershkovich last March, a journalist who worked in this country for the daily The Wall Street Journal.
Gershkovich, who was arrested while reporting in the Ural capital Yekaterinburg, has been accused of espionage by the Federal Security Service.
In 2020, a former Marine Paul Whelan was sentenced for the same reason to 16 years in prison for espionage.
US President Joe Biden has demanded the release of both and the Kremlin has acknowledged talks with Washington about a future swap.
This week the Russian Justice ordered the arrest of a US citizen of Russian origin, Yevguenia Spektor, on charges of espionage, a charge that could carry a sentence of between ten and twenty years in prison.
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