WASHINGTON, March 27. /TASS/. Moscow expects that the US Department of State will respond to its request on providing medical assistance to Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko in a US prison, Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.
"Today we talked to our fellow countryman. Konstantin said that recently he felt slightly unwell, he complained about a slightly higher temperature and cough," the press service quoted Antonov as saying. "There are reasonable grounds to think that the Russian could have an acute respiratory viral infection. Given the spread of COVID-19, we are extremely concerned over his health."
"We immediately requested the State Department to provide competent medical assistance to him. We expect that Konstantin Yaroshenko will undergo the required examination and immediately receive treatment," the diplomat said.
"We expect that the US authorities will swiftly provide assistance as every minute counts in the battle against the pandemic," he stressed.
Konstantin Yaroshenko was convicted in the United States on September 7, 2011 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He pled not guilty and described his arrest as a provocation and the whole case as a frame-up. Yaroshenko was brought to the United States from Liberia, where he was arrested on May 28, 2010. Agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration allegedly exposed Yaroshenko’s criminal intent to transport a large batch of cocaine.
The Russian authorities and the pilot’s family in Rostov-on-Don have repeatedly asked the United States for Yaroshenko’s handover to Russia.