"The exchange of prisoners is an extremely delicate matter that directly affects people's fates. This is understandable, because we are talking about those arrested and detained for certain actions, for example, on charges of espionage, drug smuggling, and if we talk about our people in the United States, then for political reasons or deliberately fabricated criminal cases. In this regard, there are hardly any realistic options for organizing an exchange according to the 'all for all' formula," Ryabkov said.
13 December 2022, 00:54 GMT
The diplomat also noted that such a sensitive topic should not become public, as it does not contribute to achieving concrete results, adding that Moscow does not have the precise information about all Russian citizens in detention in the US.
"The State Department systematically ignores repeated requests from the Russian embassy in Washington to provide relevant information. However, according to our information, there are a lot more Russians serving their sentences in US prisons and remand centers than Americans here [in Russia]," Ryabkov said.
In April 2022, Washington and Moscow exchanged two prisoners for the first time in 12 years. Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year drug trafficking sentence in the US, was exchanged for American student Trevor Reed, who was serving a nine-year sentence in Russia for disorderly conduct and fighting police officers.
In December, the US and Russia exchanged imprisoned US basketball player Brittney Griner and Russian businessman Viktor Bout in a one-for-one prisoner swap. Bout was serving a 25-year sentence in the US on arms dealing charges. Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for illegally bringing cannabis oil into the country.