U.S. and Russian foreign ministers discuss prisoner exchange, Ukraine issue, etc.
2022-07-30 09:18:39Source: China News Network
China News Agency, Washington, July 29 (Xinhua) — U.S. Secretary of State Blinken spoke on the phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the 29th local time, exchanging views on the exchange of prisoners and the Ukraine issue. It was the first phone call between the foreign ministers of the United States and Russia since Russia launched military operations in Ukraine.
Blinken said at a news conference after the call that he had a “frank and direct conversation” with Lavrov and that the U.S. hopes that Russia can accept the U.S. proposal to release two U.S. citizens, Brittney Griner and Wayland. (Paul Whelan).
Griner, the U.S. women’s basketball star, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for drug possession and could face up to 10 years in prison. Wayland is a former U.S. Marine and director of corporate security. He was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 for espionage.
According to U.S. media reports, the U.S. proposal this time is to use a Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, in exchange for Griner and Wayland.
Blinken declined to comment on whether Russia would accept the proposal.
The two sides also discussed allowing Ukrainian grain to leave Black Sea ports safely, Blinken said, adding that the U.S. “hopes to see implementation as soon as possible.”
Blinken also said he again warned Russia against trying to annex Ukrainian territory. “The world will not recognize annexation. If Russia continues this plan, it will face huge additional losses.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the same day that Lavrov “strongly advised” Blinken to maintain “quiet diplomacy and no speculative information” about a possible prisoner exchange.
Regarding the Ukrainian grain issue, Russia believes that the US sanctions against Russia have “complicated” the incident.
The Russian Foreign Ministry statement also said that Russia “will fully achieve its goals in Ukraine.”
On February 24 this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech that he had decided to launch a special military operation in the Donbas region, and at the same time stated that Russia had no plans to occupy Ukraine. Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States has taken several rounds of sanctions against Russia, including sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and other individuals, and cancellation of normal trade relations with Russia.