MOSCOW, March 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has not ruled out the possibility of including Russian businessman Artyom Uss (son of the governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexander Uss), who was detained in Italy on an international warrant, in the lists of prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington, should he be extradited to the United States.
"Anything is possible, but the fact is that during the earlier stages of the discussion of such issues, as far as I know, the Americans did not display any interest in securing the repatriation of some of their citizens," Ryabkov said, while answering a relevant question from the media on Wednesday.
He stressed that a great deal of "traditional American slyness" was involved.
"They indulge in bombastic rhetoric about how they fight for each of their citizens, but in fact, in some proposed options of such swaps, those who are in our custody, including those under serious charges, are of little interest to them or of no interest at all," he continued. "I don’t know what Mr. Uss’ fate will be. I hope that he will return home one way or another. But by and large, there is no reason to speculate about any exchanges for now."
"We have always fought and will continue to fight for all Russian citizens, to provide consular assistance, and to protect their interests by all available means. This, of course, applies to Mr. Uss," Ryabkov said.
Uss case
A court in Milan had previously ruled in favor of extraditing Russian businessman Artyom Uss, who was detained in Italy on an international warrant, to American soil. In the US, he was charged with sanctions evasion and money laundering. Uss was detained on October 17 at Milan’s Malpensa Airport. He has been under house arrest ever since.
A final decision on his extradition is to be made by the Minister of Justice. It will be enforced after the minister signs the relevant document. Sometimes the decision may be different from the court’s verdict. The Russian's lawyers suggest that the US interest may stem from the fact that Uss is the son of the Krasnoyarsk Territory’s governor. A source familiar with the case has speculated that subsequently the US side may try to use Uss as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia.