U.S. Marine veteran and prisoner of Russia Paul Whelan said in a recent interview that he feels “serious betrayal” by the United States for not working out a deal to bring him home.
Whelan’s rare interview comes about a week away from the five-year anniversary of being held captive in Russia, with multiple discussions between the U.S. and Russia to work out a deal to bring him home bearing no fruit. Amid the wait for his release, Whelan said he has felt “abandoned,” as the U.S. was able to bring home two prisoners from Russia last year but not him.
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“I know the U.S. have all sorts of proposals, but it’s not what the Russians want,” Whelan told the BBC. “So they go back and forth, like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. The problem is it’s my life that’s draining away while they do this. It’s been five years!”
One of the prisoners released in 2022 was WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was released in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. Before this exchange, Russia had offered to free Whelan in exchange for Bout, but then-President Donald Trump rejected the offer.
“It’s extremely stressful knowing that I could have been home years ago,” Whelan said. “It’s extremely frustrating to know that they’ve made these mistakes. They’ve basically abandoned me here.”
On Thursday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated that the White House is “very concerned” about Whelan’s well-being and is still working with Russia to ensure “he gets consular access.”
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Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin shared hope that Russia and the U.S. will reach an agreement for a release of both Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested by the Federal Security Service in March while on a reporting trip in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. However, the Kremlin reiterated that the U.S. “must hear us and make an appropriate decision, one that suits the Russian side.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said earlier this month that Russia turned down a “new and significant proposal” for Gershkovich and Whelan’s return.