WASHINGTON, December 9. /TASS/. US national Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia, has demanded the Biden administration take decisive action to secure his release in a letter published by his brother David.

Paul Whelan said that his life was "destined to end" in a Russian penal colony where he was serving his sentence, adding that the Biden administration had done nothing to bring him home. "For nearly five years, I've been told that my release was a priority. I was told that everyone was doing everything they could to secure my release. In my mind, that has not been done at all. I've been promised that the United States is coming for me. I hope that happens before it's too late," he added.

"This game of diplomatic niceties and pleasant dialog needs to end. The White House, National Security Council and Department of State must take decisive action to secure my release. President Biden, I have paid a high price for being an American citizen. A promise is a promise. The clock is ticking on getting this done. Please bring me home," Whelan added.

Meanwhile, White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said, commenting on the letter, that "there's not a day that goes by that the president's team isn't trying to work to get Paul [Whelan] and [Wall Street Journal reporter] Evan [Gershkovich] out of Russian jail." "We can't detail the kinds of proposals that we're making. I can assure you that we are. In fact just recently made a very serious proposal to see if we could get Paul and Evan out and the Russians balked at it," Kirby noted. "We’re going to keep seeing what we can do to try to get them out," he added.

Kirby claimed that Russia held Whelan "at a very high standard because they trumped up these espionage charges against him." "They just treat him differently than they do other people that they that they're holding and we recognize that which is why coming up with a proposal that they'll accept has become fairly difficult," he said.

Whelan and Gerskhkovich cases

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), he acted at the behest of the United States, collecting information constituting a state secret about the activities of Russian defense companies. Criminal charges were filed against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Espionage"). If found guilty, he may face up to 20 years in prison. However, Gershkovich pleaded not guilty.

Paul Whelan, who holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained by the FSB at a Moscow hotel on December 28, 2018, while on a spy mission. A criminal case was opened against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. The Moscow City Court eventually sentenced Whelan to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.