'Sure thing': Putin says he is open to discussing prisoner swap that would free Americans Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed and wants Russian pilot convicted of drug smuggling released
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is open to discussing a potential prisoner swap with President Joe Biden when the two meet in Geneva – calling a jailed American a 'troublemaker' while identifying a Russian pilot convicted of drug smuggling who Putin wants released.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already said President Biden will seek to discuss the release of jailed Americans Michael Whelan and Trevor Reed, both jailed in Russia.
Asked in an interview with NBC News broadcast Monday if he was willing to negotiate with Biden on a prisoner swap, Putin said, 'Yes, of course' and called for a broader extradition agreement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was open to a U.S.-Russia prisoner swap. 'Why not discuss them as long as they pertain to the health and life of specific individuals and of their families? Of course. Sure thing,' he said
Putin said that some cases were 'matters of a humanitarian nature.'
'Why not discuss them as long as they pertain to the health and life of specific individuals and of their families? Of course. Sure thing,' he said.
Putin hinted that Reed's case could be resolved quickly, calling him a 'drunk and a troublemaker.'
He referred to Reed as someone who 'got himself s**t-faced and started a fight.'
'These things happen in life. There is nothing horrible about it. It happens to our men as well,' Putin said.
'What would have happened if he'd fought a cop, if he'd hit a cop in your country? He would have been shot dead on that spot, and that's the end of it. Isn't that the case?' Putin said, using his familiar topic of seeking to turn the tables on the U.S.
He made the comments to NBC in an interview that aired Monday.
Putin made the comments to NBC in an interview that aired Monday.
Paul Whelan, a former US Marine accused of espionage, holds a written protest from a defendants' cage at a Moscow court in June 2020
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is taking to a criminal court in Bangkok in 2010
Whelan, a former U.S. Marine was sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted of spying. 'This secret trial in which no evidence was produced is an egregious violation of human rights and international legal norms,' U.S. ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said following Whelan's conviction.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. was 'outraged' over the 'secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses.' Whelan, who also holds passports from the U.S., Britain, Canada, and Ireland, denied the espionage charges.
His lawyer said following his arrest at a Moscow hotel in late 2019 that Whelan had been given a flash drive containing 'state secrets' that someone handed him, but that he had not opened it or looked at its contents. He was expecting it to contain personal information.
Reed is an executive with an auto parts company from Michigan who was arrested in 2019 for a drunken brawl in which he punched two Russian police officers. He and his family as well as his Russian girlfriend have denied the charges against him. Sullivan said following his conviction last year: 'This is not a good story for U.S.-Russia relations. And it is not good for encouraging U.S. private citizens and business to visit and invest here if what they did to [Reed] can be done to anyone,' NBC reported at the time.
Putin specifically raised the prospect of a swap for contract pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, saying he was also accused of "common crime" and that he has "major health issues" ignored by prison authorities.
Yaroshenko was convicted in 2011 of smuggling drugs into the United States. He was extradited from Liberia in what the Kremlin denounced as a kidnapping.
Other high-profile Russians in US custody include Viktor Bout, the prolific arms dealer arrested in Thailand in 2010 who inspired the Nicolas Cage film "Lord of War."
He is serving a 25-year sentence on charges of smuggling weapons to Colombia's FARC rebels.
No comments: