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Kremlin against megaphone diplomacy in prisoner exchange talks with US

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said he hoped Moscow would be willing to talk "more seriously about a prisoner exchange"

MOSCOW, November 11. /TASS/. The United States is aware of Russia’s proposals for prisoner exchanges, there are channels for contacts on this issue, but "megaphone diplomacy" is out of place, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday.

He stressed that "there are corresponding channels", but they must be kept clandestine in order to achieve results.

"Megaphone diplomacy in this particular case undermines the effectiveness of these channels. We make a serious approach to all proposals seriously. Our serious proposals in this regard are well known in Washington," Peskov said.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden said he hoped Moscow would be willing to talk "more seriously about a prisoner exchange."

Washington previously offered Moscow to exchange Russian businessman Viktor Bout, who is serving a prison term in the United States for arms trafficking, for Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia. Later, US media cited unnamed sources as saying that Russia had suggested adding to the exchange list one more Russian citizen imprisoned in a Western country.

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