John Kirby says U.S. is ‘still negotiating’ Paul Whelan’s release from Russian prison as recently-release WNBA star Brittney Griner receives medical attention to ‘make sure that she’s ready for her reintegration back into American society’
- National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday that U.S. officials are ‘still negotiating’ the release of former Marine Paul Whelan
- He is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia after he arrested for alleged espionage
- Brittney Griner, a WNBA star arrested in Russia in February on marijuana-related charges, was released back to the U.S. in a prisoner exchange last week
- The U.S., in exchange, released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout
- Critics claim the U.S. got the short end of the stick and should have prioritized getting the release of a U.S. Marine over a WNBA star
John Kirby explained Sunday that negotiators ‘lost hope’ that they would be able to get Paul Whelan out of Russian prison last week along with Brittney Griner, but said they are ‘still negotiating’ the former Marine’s release.
The National Security Council’s (NSC) top spokesperson told ABC’s This Week program that Griner is at Brooke Army Medical Center receiving mental and physical health care to ‘make sure that she’s ready for her reintegration back into American society.’
The U.S. made an offer to Moscow in July that would get the release for both Griner and Whelan.
Earlier this week, Griner was released from Russian prison back to the U.S. in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
‘Without getting into the specifics of it, because we are still negotiating for Paul Whelan’s release, there was a very serious, specific proposal made to the Russians to try to get both of them out together and it just didn’t land anywhere, didn’t go anywhere with the Russians,’ Kirby explained to ABC’s Sunday morning host Martha Raddatz.
‘And then as we progressed through the summer and into the fall,’ he added. ‘Again, the conversation is ongoing with the Russians.’
Kirby said Russians were treating Whelan ‘very separately’ due to the ‘sham espionage charges’ against him.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Sunday that U.S. officials are ‘still negotiating’ the release of former Marine Paul Whelan from a Russian penal colony, where he is serving a 16-year sentence
Brittney Griner (pictured on Friday) is a WNBA star arrested in Russia in February on marijuana-related charges. She arrived back in the U.S. from Russian prison last week in a prisoner exchange that also saw the release of arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the ‘Merchant of Death’
The deal for Griner’s release in exchange for Bout ‘came together last week’, Kirby detailed.
‘At what point did you lose hope that you wouldn’t be getting Whelan out?’ Raddatz asked the NSC spokesperson.
‘I think it really occurred to us that there was just no chance of doing it last week,’ he responded.
The White House has received a slew of criticism for getting Griner, a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, out of Russian prison before former Marine Whelan.
Griner was arrested in Russia on February 17, 2022 after authorities accused her of carrying drugs – specifically marijuana oil – in her luggage at a Moscow airport.
After less than a year in Russian prisons, Griner arrived back in the U.S. on Friday, December 9.
Whelan, on the other hand, was arrested in Russia on December 28, 2018, accused of spying, and still remains in prison in Russia. In June 2020, Whelan received a 16-year prison sentence.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan spoke out about the prisoner exchange from a Russian prison, saying he is ‘disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release’ after serving four of his 16-year sentence. Pictured: Whelan holds up a message from a Russian prison on October 24, 2019 after
Critics are tearing into the White House for trading an arms dealer known as the ‘Merchant of Death’ for a women’s basketball star – rather than seeking to get the release of Whelan.
Whelan spoke out from Russian prison after four years behind bars, slamming the Biden administration for failing to secure his release in the controversial prisoner swap partially brokered by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, that freed Griner.
Whelan said he was being held as a ‘hostage’ of Russia, and pleaded for the White House to ‘do everything they could to get me home’ as he faces another 12 years in a Russian penal colony on spying charges he says are bogus.
‘I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up,’ Whelan told CNN in a phone call from the remote Russian penal colony where he is serving a 16-year sentence. ‘I was arrested for a crime that never occurred. I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.’
Whelan said he hoped Biden ‘would do everything they could to get me home, regardless of the price they might have to pay at this point.’
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