Russia Is Open to a Prisoner Exchange With the US, Says Russian Deputy FM

Russia is open to a prisoner exchange with the US, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated in an interview with NBC News on December 10.

According to Ryabkov, Russia would “definitely be prepared to consider” a prisoner swap similar to the one that took place on August 1, which was the largest exchange of prisoners between Russia and the US since the Cold War.

Such an arrangement, he claimed, would be “a healthy step forward”, ameliorating US-Russia relations under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Ryabkov did not give an explicit timeline for the prisoner exchange, noting that it would require a “a multiphased or multistep approach on both sides,” including in certain instances the pardoning of those serving sentences.

On August 1, in a deal brokered by Turkey, the US and its allies participated in a prisoner exchange with Russia in which 26 people from 7 countries were freed, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.