MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. Issues of prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States are addressed via a special channel designated by the two presidents, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with the Izvestia daily, which came out on Thursday.
"Issues of prisoner exchange are considered via a special channel designated by the president. Some things are settled, some not. It is a very touchy topic, as it is about people’s lives," he noted.
"There are many our compatriots, several dozens, who are serving sentences in the United States on various charges. Along with [Viktor] Bout, they are Roman Seleznyov, Alexander Vinnik and many others. Listing their names, I want to draw attention to the fact that the prison terms for our compatriots in the United States are incomparable with the prison terms awarded to the majority of US citizens in Russia, including on very serious charges," he noted.
He praised the work of the Russian embassy in the US, which has helped to settle problems with medical assistance to Russian nationals serving sentences in the US and providing them with Russian-language publications. "The main task is to release the people, who are convicted there on draconian, as a matter of fact, punitive charges. Some of them were simply abducted by US special services and law enforcer in third countries. We need to return them home and the work in this direction continues. I cannot anticipate how, when and what may happen, but this is one of the most important topics we continue dialogue with the United States on. No doubt," he stressed.