17 June 2017, 14:21 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moscow deeply regrets at US refusal to transfer Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko imprisoned in the United States to Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with the Izvestiya newspaper.
"We have once again received a refusal for transfer of Konstantin Yaroshenko to Russia under the mechanism of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. It causes our deepest regret," Ryabkov said.
In 2011, Russian pilot Yaroshenko was sentenced to 20 years in prison on allegations of conspiring to import more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the United States. He was captured in Liberia in 2010 and turned over to the United States, prompting protests from Russia. In April 2016, the Appeal Court of New York denied revising the pilot's sentence.
