Russia rejects proposal to release two US citizens

Washington says Russia has rejected a proposal to release two US citizens detained by Moscow, Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

"We have made a number of proposals, including one important and substantive proposal, in recent weeks. Russia has rejected them," Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the US State Department, said on December 5.

Mr. Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden are continuing to seek the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan, two Americans say Russia has "illegally detained."

“They should not have been arrested. They should have been released immediately,” Miller said. “For the secretary of state and the president, this is a top priority right now.”

Russia has not commented on the information.

Evan Gershkovich (right) is escorted into the Lefortovsky district court, Moscow, Russia on August 24. Photo: AFP

Despite a deterioration in bilateral relations since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, the US and Russia have arranged two prisoner exchanges, including the release of basketball star Brittney Griner, who was detained by Moscow on marijuana possession charges.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in late March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, becoming the first Western journalist to be detained on espionage charges in Russia since the Soviet era. Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the US government have denied the charges. A Moscow court last week extended Gershkovich's detention until January 2024.

Paul Whelan was arrested by Russian security forces in Moscow in December 2018. Russia claims that Whelan, who holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, is a spy and was caught red-handed with a USB stick containing classified information. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court in 2020.

Whelan has vehemently denied any Russian accusations. Whelan's family said last week that he had been assaulted by fellow inmates, possibly because of his nationality.

Thanh Tam (According to AFP )

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/nga-bac-de-xuat-tha-hai-cong-dan-my-4685306.html