The Kremlin comments
on the Paul Whelan spy case.
MOSCOW, January 9.
/TASS/. Moscow never uses people as pawns in a diplomatic game, Kremlin
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday commenting on the detention
of Paul Whelan in Russia on suspicion of espionage.
"In Russia
people are never used as pawns in a diplomatic game," Peskov said.
"Russia conducts counterintelligence activity against those who are
suspected of espionage, this is done on a regular basis."
Peskov stressed that
he is not aware of statements on a possible swap of Russian citizen Maria
Butina arrested in the United States for American citizen Paul Whelan,
declining to comment on the reasons for his detention in Russia. "I
haven’t heard about these statements, so I have nothing to say here,"
Peskov said, commenting on the proposal to exchange Butina for Whelan.
The Russian Federal
Security Service (FSB) detained Paul Whelan on December 28, 2018, in Moscow
while on a spy mission. A criminal investigation was opened against him on
espionage charges carrying a punishment of up to 20 years in jail. Whelan holds
citizenship in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. US
Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman visited Whelan at the Lefortovo pre-trial
detention center on January 2.
Maria Butina, 30, was
arrested in Washington DC on July 15, 2018 right before the Helsinki meeting
between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.
The US Department of Justice said that she was suspected of acting "as an
agent of Russia inside the United States by developing relationships with US
persons and infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics,
for the purpose of advancing the interests of the Russian Federation."
On December 13,
Butina pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the US law governing foreign
agents operating in the country. The next court hearing has been scheduled for
February 12.
Source: ITAR-TASS
09-01-2019
