WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Detained American in Russia Paul Whelan on Thursday expressed disappointment more had not been done for his release and urged President Joe Biden to act quickly, after a prisoner swap releasing U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was announced.
Griner was released in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout, a transaction that may leave the United States little leverage to negotiate for Whelan, a former U.S. Marine serving 16 years on espionage charges which he denies.
Biden said the United States will never give up on seeking Whelan‘s freedom, but that the prisoner swap involving Griner leaves few options.
“Sadly and for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up,” Biden said.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken said at a news conference: “This was not a choice of which American to bring home. The choice was one or none.”
Whelan was detained in 2018 and convicted two years later.
“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,” he told CNN.
“I would say that if a message could go to President Biden, that this is a precarious situation that needs to be resolved quickly,” he said.
Paul’s brother, David Whelan, welcomed Griner’s release, but said it did not bode well for his sibling. The Biden administration let the Whelan family know in advance that he would not be released along with Griner, David Whelan said.
“That early warning meant that our family has been able to mentally prepare for what is now a public disappointment for us. And a catastrophe for Paul,” he said in a statement.
Republican lawmaker Adam Kinzinger was critical of the Biden administration.
“So a basketball star is released, we can celebrate, but what about Paul Whelan?” he wrote on Twitter. “Surely an arms dealer is worth two innocent people?”
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN the United States was not returning to square one with Whelan. “It was pretty obvious, early on that they were going to treat Mr Whelan separate and distinct from Brittney,” he said. “That’s still the case.”
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Moira Warburton; writing by Doina Chiacu and Costas Pitas; editing by Heather Timmons, Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Macfie)
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