Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said that more than 60 Russian “hostages” are being held in the United States of America as a result of what he calls an “illegal global hunt” for Russians by American intelligence services, Reuters reports.

Vershinin’s comments, made in an interview with Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti published on Tuesday, came as Washington seeks a new prisoner swap with Moscow, amid speculation about which prisoners it would like Russia to exchange. was released under such an agreement.

Vershininin did not talk about the possible scope of such an exchange, but noted that “the total number of Russian citizens (in American prisons) who were actually taken hostage exceeds 60 people.”

Russia’s deputy foreign minister did not provide any evidence that the sentences against the Russians were politically motivated or unfair, but he recalled the general anti-Russian sentiment in the US and said that was his opinion.

Earlier this month, the United States freed convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in a prisoner swap with Brittney Griner, an American basketball star jailed in Russia for drug-related crimes.

U.S. media reported that Russia refused to include Paul Whelan, a U.S. Navy veteran convicted of espionage in 2020, in the same exchange.

Whelan denies the charges, and the United States has said it is working to secure his release.

According to American media, Russia demanded the release of Vadym Krasikov, convicted of murdering a Chechen dissident in Berlin in 2019, in exchange for Whelan.

The German authorities would refuse to participate in such an exchange.