Former Marine Paul Whelan has not been released along with American basketball star Brittney Griner as Russia demanded the release of a murderous spy jailed for life in Germany.
Negotiations to trade Russian arms dealer Victor Booth to Griner and Whelan have been scuttled by Russian demands that convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov be included in the deal.
Russia was ready to exchange Griner for Bout, because it considers both of them criminals. The New York Times reported Fridayciting unnamed US officials.
But Russia claims Whelan is an American agent and insists that he be replaced only by a Russian counterpart or someone of similar stature, the Times said.
There are no Russian spies in custody in the US, which has said the charges against Whelan are bogus, and Russia named Krasikov earlier this year. This was reported by CNN in July.
German officials refused to release Krasikov when asked by the US, and an American attempt to broker a tripartite deal in which Germany could get something also failed, the Times reported on Friday.
Krasikov, a former colonel of Russia’s notorious FSB intelligence agency, was convicted last year on August 23, 2019, of the assassination of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khanqoshvili in broad daylight.
Krasikov used a bicycle to drive Khankhoshvili across Berlin before shooting him three times with a deactivated Glock 26 pistol in the Kleiner Tiergarten park near the German parliament building.
WNBA star Brittney Griner was traded for a Russian arms dealer.
Victor Booth, the US trade for Greener, is known as the “Merchant of Death.”
Griner spent time in a Russian colony.
Russia accepted the Griner-Bout exchange because the country considers both of them criminals.
Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison for possession of cannabis oil.
German prosecutors said the hit was carried out by Moscow because the victim, who sought asylum in Germany, was a former Chechen militia commander who fought against Russia in the early 2000s.
Although German criminals usually do not serve more than 15 years in prison, Krasikov’s conviction includes a finding that prevents him from being released early. According to the Washington Post.
The revelation that Russia wanted Krasikov’s release came after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed in July that the US had made a “substantial offer” to Russia for the release of Griner and Whelan.
Griner, 32, was arrested in February at a Moscow airport and was serving a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to drug charges for possessing two vape cartridges containing less than a gram of cannabis oil.
Whelan, a 52-year-old corporate security director from Michigan, was arrested in 2018 when he arrived in Moscow to attend a friend’s wedding and is serving a 16-year prison sentence in the US on charges of warrantless espionage.
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