The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, pointed out that “negotiations conducted by the relevant authorities of her country with their American counterparts regarding the exchange of prisoners have not yet reached a practical result.” She stated that “Russian Presidents Vladimir Putin and American Joe Biden have ordered negotiations on a prisoner exchange,” noting that “the issue has been constantly raised since their summit in June 2021 in the Swiss city of Geneva.”

And US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has previously indicated that he “will speak with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in the coming days to discuss the proposal his country will make to secure the release of the two Americans detained in Moscow.” ”, explaining: “I intend to raise the issue, which is a priority for us, the release of illegally detained Paul Whelan and Britney Grainer, who should be allowed to return to their country, and emphasized that “Washington made an offer a few weeks ago to facilitate the release of detainees, and continues to implement his proposal until they are released.”

In addition, the American media reported: “Moscow demands the exchange of two American prisoners for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms smuggler sentenced in the United States to 25 years in prison.”

It should be noted that the dossier on the exchange of prisoners between the authorities of Moscow and Washington has always been a map of mutual pressure from both sides, since both Russia and the United States are equally striving to achieve political and geostrategic benefits from this dossier.