US pleading for the release of jailed US nationals: Lavrov

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 May 12:28

Washington is reportedly still trying to figure out a way to release US nationals: Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of espionage, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained on espionage charges.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attends a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Moscow, Russia, on January 18, 2022. (Reuters)

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov revealed that the US is repeatedly calling Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov to plead for the release of Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of espionage, and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained on espionage charges.

In an interview for Tsargrad TV, Lavrov said, "Sometimes Washington (the White House) calls Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, sending the same message: ‘release Paul Whelan,’ and now also journalist, as they call him, Evan Gershkovich," as per the Foreign Ministry’s website.

"The second topic that still afloat deals with the working conditions for Russian diplomats in the United States and American diplomats in the Russian Federation; It is roughly the same issues that sometimes surface in contacts between us and European countries," Lavrov added.

This comes shortly after US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that his administration is “working every day” to secure the release of the two US nationals.

Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March and charged with espionage. His employer, The Wall Street Journal, and US officials denied the allegations.

Paul Whelan is a US Marine veteran serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on espionage charges.

Whelan has caused a stir and is labeled as being "forgotten". Back in December, Biden had commented about the detained Marine saying, “We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan, who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years."