MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. The exchange of Viktor Bout, a Russian businessman sentenced to 25 years behind bars in the US, has been mentioned during Russia-US talks on prisoner swaps, American Ambassador John Sullivan said.
"It has certainly been mentioned by the Russian government," Sullivan said in an interview with TASS. "There is a limit to what I can say about this. What I can say, and this comes from top, from President [Joe] Biden on down, and I have said it myself repeatedly, we have no higher priority than the welfare of American citizens, who are detained here, and I work on these issues every day, so my hope is that we will make progress."
"It is something I get asked about daily, it is in the American press every day, wherever it is Brittany Griner or Paul Whelan. I hope we will make progress, but it would not be productive for me to give any more details," the diplomat said.
Bout was apprehended in Thailand in 2008 at the US request and following a sting by US federal agents. He was charged with conspiracy to deliver weapons to a group regarded as a terrorist organization by the US. In 2010, Bout was extradited to the US and in April 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in jail. Bout has denied all the charges.