The White House is preparing a new offer to Russia for the release of two American citizens held in its prisons, a spokesman said on Thursday, AFP and Agerpres reported.

Paul Whelan, detained in RussiaPhoto: Kyrylo KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP / Profimedia

“We are working hard to see if we can come up with another offer that will be more successful,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said after Moscow rejected an earlier offer to fire him. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Hershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.

Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for spying in Russia since 2018, said in an interview published by the BBC on Wednesday that he felt “abandoned” by the United States, which he accused of “treason” for not were able to return him to his homeland.

A prisoner spends his days sewing clothes and hats in a prison factory. He said that the temperature in the prison, where, according to him, another prisoner had recently attacked, is -15 degrees Celsius.

John Kirby described as “very disturbing” the information that the former serviceman was “being physically threatened”.

Evan Hershkovich, a 32-year-old American Wall Street Journal journalist who also worked for Agence France Presse in Moscow, was arrested by Russian intelligence services while reporting in Yekaterinburg, Urals, on March 29, 2023.

The reporter is charged with espionage, which carries a 20-year prison sentence, but he denies the charges, as does Washington, the publication he works for, his relatives and family.

“Moscow has so far rejected all proposals”

Russia has so far rejected all offers from the United States to release the two Americans, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said a week ago, asking President Vladimir Putin to “negotiate in good faith.”

“I made several proposals. There is a new and important proposal that we made a few weeks ago,” the spokesman said, stressing that Moscow “rejected” all of them.

In this way, he responded to the statements of the Russian president, who said that he “hopes” for an agreement with Washington on this matter.

The Americans and Russians have carried out several prisoner exchanges in the past.

A year ago, the United States achieved, in particular, the release of the American basketball player Brittney Griner, detained in Russia, in exchange for the Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “merchant of death.”

Read also:

  • Did Biden make a “bad deal”? Griner’s exchange with the arms dealer is hotly contested
  • Arms dealer Viktor Bout offers Trump to hide in Russia
  • Moscow hints it may be ready to negotiate a prisoner swap for freed reporter Evan Hershkovich

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