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Russia urges US to respond to its prisoner swap proposals — diplomat

"We call upon them to focus on a realistic search for solutions on the basis of Moscow’s proposals, which they are well aware of," Sergey Ryabkov said

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/. Russia calls upon the United States to respond to its prisoner swap proposals, but the United States is delaying the answer, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS in an interview.

"This subject is remarkably delicate. Earlier, we managed to resolve some high-profile cases, but a lengthy pause ensued and continues to date," he said, when asked about the possibility of more exchanges in the future. "Who may be exchanged and under what scheme is a separate issue. The Foreign Ministry is not a direct participant in these exchanges, and the talks are held via a dedicated channel of communication, but, generally speaking, I can say that the US has not perceived our proposals until now."

"Nevertheless, we call upon them to focus on a realistic search for solutions on the basis of Moscow’s proposals, which they are well aware of," Ryabkov added.

In his words, progress on the issue depends on the United States.

"We are concerned by the situation regarding a number of our compatriots who were given prison terms - in some cases, unthinkably lengthy - on contrived charges. This story is not limited to Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko," the Russian deputy foreign minister added.

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Foreign policy United States

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