MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Moscow appreciates the role that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia play in the recent prisoner swap, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"The role that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia play is commendable as they always seek to make a significant contribution to such processes," he told Channel One, commenting on Russian businessman Viktor Bout’s exchange for US basketball player Brittney Griner.

When asked if those countries could help exchange another Russian national for US citizen Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia on espionage charges, Peskov noted that if necessary, intelligence agencies would continue their work in that regard.