Russia proposes to swap Paul Whelan for ex-colonel Vadim Krasikov

According to CNN, US officials said that despite the US offering up the names of several other Russian prisoners in US custody that they would be willing to trade, Russia refused to release Paul Whelan along with Brittney Griner without the release of a former colonel from Russia's domestic spy organization who is currently in German custody.

Due to the fact that the ex-colonel, Vadim Krasikov, is currently incarcerated in Germany receiving a life sentence for murder, the US was unable to comply with the request.

For the first time, CNN reported exclusively in August that the Russians had asked for the release of Whelan and Griner in exchange for Krasikov and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year term in the US.

A senior German government source told CNN earlier this year that US officials quietly asked the Germans if they may be open to trading for Krasikov. However, in the end, the US was unable to get Krasikov's release. According to the German source, Krasikov, who murdered a Georgian national in broad daylight in Berlin in 2019, was not seriously considered by the German administration as part of any potential transaction.

According to insiders, the US made the Russians a number of other incentives in an effort to persuade them to accept Whelan's inclusion in the trade. Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national extradited to the US in August on charges of money laundering, hacking, and extortion, was one of the individuals mentioned by the US. Roman Seleznev, a Russian cybercriminal presently serving a 14-year term in the US, was also the subject of a trade offer from the US, according to sources.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Seleznev's legal counsel. Vinnik was represented by Frédéric Bélot in France prior to his extradition to the US, and on Friday, Bélot told CNN that he was not aware of any ongoing conversations between Moscow and Washington regarding the inclusion of Vinnik in a potential prisoner swap.

Bélot, however, asserted that Vinnik might eventually take part in negotiations over prisoner swaps.

"They [Vinnik and Whelan] make part of the possible 'candidates' for the next swap," Bélot said in a text message to CNN.

Bélot has pleaded with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, to assist in securing Vinnik's release from US custody ever since Vinnik was extradited to the US in August.

But in the end, the Russians made it clear that they would only be willing to exchange Whelan, who was found guilty of espionage in 2019, for one of their own spies: Krasikov.

Source