MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) Moscow and Washington are not engaged in negotiations regarding the possibility to exchange US citizen Paul Whelan, sentenced to 16 years in prison in June, to Russian citizens held in US jails, the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday.
"I would like to stress again that rumors about alleged negotiations with the US side regarding some schemes of exchanging Whelan for our citizens are not true," Zakharova said at a briefing.
Whelan's lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov told Sputnik in June that talks were underway regarding the exchange. However, neither Whelan, who denies his guilt, nor his legal defense participate in the talks, the lawyer specified. He also noted that Whelan could be exchanged for Russia's Viktor Bout or Konstantin Yaroshenko, both serving sentences in the United States.
