Russia did not agree to change Butin to American Whelan
Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Ryabkov ruled out the possibility of exchanging US citizen Paul Whelan accused of espionage for Russian Maria Butina. The senior diplomat said that there was no talk about it, since Whelan had not yet been sentenced.
- Ryabkov told RIA News.
Then Ryabkov added that the statements of the US Embassy in Russia that no evidence had been submitted in the Whelan case would not affect the situation. He stressed that Russia is still ready for the exchange of Bout and Yaroshenko, although there is no interest in such a scheme from the American side. At the same time, Ryabkov logically noted that he did not know which and when the sentence would be passed to Whelan and whether it would be appropriate then to present him in one of such schemes.
It should be recalled that Paul Whelan was detained in Moscow at the end of December 2018 during an espionage campaign. He faces 10 to 20 years in prison. In turn, Maria Butina was arrested in Washington on July 15, 2018 on charges of conspiracy to illegally work for the Russian government. She made a deal with the investigation, the court sentenced her to 18 months in prison and she should be released on November 5, 2019.
The exchange offers concerned only Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko from our side, we did not propose changing any other Russian citizens in the framework of the use of the procedures of the 1983 Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. Everything else, any conversations that other personalities suggested, are just speculations, there is nothing like that
- Ryabkov told RIA News.
Then Ryabkov added that the statements of the US Embassy in Russia that no evidence had been submitted in the Whelan case would not affect the situation. He stressed that Russia is still ready for the exchange of Bout and Yaroshenko, although there is no interest in such a scheme from the American side. At the same time, Ryabkov logically noted that he did not know which and when the sentence would be passed to Whelan and whether it would be appropriate then to present him in one of such schemes.
It should be recalled that Paul Whelan was detained in Moscow at the end of December 2018 during an espionage campaign. He faces 10 to 20 years in prison. In turn, Maria Butina was arrested in Washington on July 15, 2018 on charges of conspiracy to illegally work for the Russian government. She made a deal with the investigation, the court sentenced her to 18 months in prison and she should be released on November 5, 2019.
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