US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed for the first time Thursday that the United States has presented a proposal to secure the release of Paul Whelan, the former US marine in Russian custody for more than four years.
Blinken revealed the news during a press conference in New Delhi, India, where he was attending the G-20 conference with other foreign ministers.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting, Thursday, March 2, 2023, in New Delhi. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Blinken said he met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov for the first time since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.
“The United States has made a serious proposal. Moscow should accept it,” Blinken said, without elaborating. “We are determined to bring home Paul and every other wrongfully detained American citizen around the world. We will not stop until we do.”
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State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday that Blinken’s proposal is not the first time Russia has heard it.
“What [Lavrov] heard today was once again a strong statement from the Secretary of State that Russia should accept this proposal and, in turn, should release Paul Whelan,” Price said, without going into the details of the proposal so as not to jeopardize US efforts.
NBC News issued an embarrassing correction after reporting that President Biden could receive Paul Whelan, instead of WNBA star Brittney Griner, in the controversial White House swap for the “Merchant of Death.” (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP/AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Whelan, a former US Marine, has been in Russian custody since December 28, 2018, convicted on charges of espionage and espionage for the US government and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan and the United States have denied the allegations as the 52-year-old remains imprisoned in a labor camp in the Russian Republic of Mordovia.
Whelan’s case has been compared to that of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was released from Russian custody last December after spending less than a year in prison. Griner was arrested in February after authorities discovered vape cartridges containing a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov smokes as he walks to attend the second session of the G20 foreign ministers meeting, in New Delhi, India on Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
The Biden administration had originally demanded the release of both Griner and Whelan in exchange for notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, a Russian national who was serving a prison sentence in America. Known colloquially as the “Merchant of Death,” he was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
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The Biden administration finally agreed to trade Bout for Griner alone, leaving Whelan in Russia.
