Moscow is ready to make a goodwill move in view of its meeting. Vladimir Putin with Joe Biden. In particular, the Russian president says he is ready for an exchange of prisoners, before the meeting at which he will meet with his US counterpart.
Putin is pushing for the release of two Americans held in Russia and seems to be in the mood to pour… water into his wine.
Washington has announced that Biden will refer to his first face-to-face meeting with Putin, tomorrow (16/06) in Geneva, on the subject of Paul Whelan, who is being held in Russia on charges of espionage, but also Trevor Reed, who is imprisoned for being drunk attacked two Russian police officers.
Washington complains that the two American citizens are being unjustly detained.
U.S. lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, have called on Biden to call for his release.
“The Kremlin’s Kafkaesque treatment of American citizens must end, and President Biden must make their return the top priority of his visit,” said Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.
Republican lawmaker Michael McCall went even further, noting that their release should have been a “condition” for the two leaders to meet in Geneva.
Putin: Exchange of prisoners for humanitarian reasons
When asked by NBC about the possible exchange of prisoners between Russia and the United States, Putin appeared open to the possibility.
“Yes, yes, yes of course” he responded, according to the excerpt from his interview broadcast on Monday, June 14 by NBC. “What would be even better would be a discussion on whether to conclude an extradition agreement.” he added, according to the transcript of the interview published by the Kremlin.
Pending this agreement, the Russian president appeared ready to discuss an exchange of prisoners for “humanitarian” reasons, which according to the ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ are connected “With health and life each separately”.
Which Russian prisoners would like to be released in exchange for the two Americans? “We have a list,” Putin said. whereas the number of Russians held in US prisons “does not compare” with that of Americans held in Russia.
The Russian president referred mainly to the “serious health problems” of Konstantin Yaroshenko, the Russian pilot detained in the United States on charges of cocaine smuggling, whose family demanded his release before the summit. The family of the infamous arms dealer Victor Bout did the same.
In his interview, Putin appeared very harsh towards Trevor Reed, who was sentenced in July 2019 to nine years in prison. “He is just a drunkard and a troublemaker,” he said, adding that “he is a criminal of common criminal law, nothing more,” while US politicians accuse Moscow of using him as a means of exerting diplomatic pressure.
His mother, Paula Reed, told NBC yesterday that she had “high hopes” of finally seeing her son free, while welcoming the Biden administration’s commitment to that and Putin’s statements about his release. “We hope this will happen very soon,” he explained.
“We do not care how he returns home,” said Joey Reed, his father.
A former Marine officer, the other American detained in Russia, Paul Whelan, was a security agent for an American auto parts company when he was arrested in Moscow in December 2018. In June 2020, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges.
Whelan recently asked Biden to arrange a prisoner exchange to secure his release. But the US president’s position on the issue remains unclear.
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