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Release of US citizen Whelan convicted of espionage may help improve relations - brother

The US ambassador earlier visited Paul Whelan in penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia

NEW YORK, September 24. /TASS/. The family of US national Paul Whelan, sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage in Russia, believes that his release could helo improve relations between the two counties, Paul’s brother David said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, [US] Ambassador [to Russia John] Sullivan also noted in an interview that US-Russian Federation relations have only deteriorated in recent years. We realize that Paul's freedom depends on Secretary of State Pompeo and Ambassador Carstens, President Trump's Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA), being able to overcome that deterioration. We hope they're successful. Paul's release might be a start to filling in that hole, rather than digging it deeper," the statement reads.

The US ambassador earlier visited Paul Whelan in penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia. The envoy refused to either confirm or deny talks between Washington and Moscow on the possibility of exchanging Whelan for a Russian national jailed in the US.

Whelan case

According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Paul Whelan, a corporate security director for US-based automotive parts supplier BorgWarner, was detained in Moscow on December 28, 2018, while on a spy mission. A criminal case was opened against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code (espionage). The Moscow City Court sentenced Whelan to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.

Whelan holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports.

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