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Russia, US maintain dialogue on prisoners’ swap via specialized channels — diplomat

According to Sergey Ryabkov, "certain results were achieved in recent months, regarding such humanitarian issues as well"

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov Russian Foreign Ministry Press Office/TASS

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov

© Russian Foreign Ministry Press Office/TASS

MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Russia and the United States will carry on with discussions on prisoners’ swap using specialized channels, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday.

"If speaking about the exchange of prisoners through specialized channels, I should say that the relevant issues are still under consideration," Ryabkov said in an interview with RT Arabic news agency.

According to the high-ranking diplomat, "certain results were achieved in recent months, regarding such humanitarian issues as well."

"We view it as a positive development in the recent Russian-American relations," Ryabkov added.

On December 8, 2022, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia’s Viktor Bout had been exchanged for US basketball player Brittney Griner.

Bout was arrested in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok in 2008 following a sting by US federal agents. The Russian was charged with conspiracy to deliver weapons to a rebel group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia regarded as a terrorist organization by the United States. In April 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $15 mln.

Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for attempting to smuggle hashish oil into Russia and eventually sentenced to nine years in prison.

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Foreign policy United States Sergey Ryabkov

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