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US ambassador mum on possible swap for Paul Whelan

The envoy visited the US national, who is jailed in Russia for espionage, at a correctional facility in Mordovia on Tuesday

MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/. US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said on Wednesday that he can neither confirm nor deny the reports of ongoing negotiations between Moscow and Washington on US national Paul Whelan’s swap for Russian citizens imprisoned in the US.

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"I know this issue has been the subject of widespread media speculation," he said on Wednesday after visiting Whelan at a correctional facility in Mordovia in response to a question by TASS. "I can’t comment on any, if there were any, ongoing discussions of Paul’s case with the Russian government directly. I want to protect the confidentiality of those discussions if there are any going on," he said, adding that he can neither confirm nor deny those reports.

Sullivan visited Whelan, who is jailed in Russia for espionage, at a correctional facility in Mordovia on Tuesday.

US national Paul Whelan, who also holds British, Canadian and Irish citizenship, was detained by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on December 28, 2018 in Moscow while on an alleged spy mission. On June 15, 2020, the Moscow City Court found Whelan guilty of spying against Russia and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. Whelan pleaded not guilty dismissing the criminal case as a provocation by Russian special services.

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