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The Russian chief diplomat, who was in Uzbekistan, ratified the US version of his counterpart’s request, Anthony Blinken, to discuss the prisoner exchange negotiations. Although he clarified that his office is not dedicated to that, he assured that he will listen to “what they have to say.”
After the interdicts of the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, who accused Anthony Blinken of making “leaks” to the press and not respecting traditional diplomatic channels, the head of Russian Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, announced this Friday that they received the request official from their American peers to engage in conversations.
In the framework of a press conference after a ministerial meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Uzbekistan, the Russian Foreign Minister added that they will look for a “convenient” date to meet remotely with the Secretary of State of the North American country.
Blinken’s intention is to channel the dialogue with Russia regarding the exchange of prisoners. However, Lavrov stressed that his portfolio is not dedicated to these issues, but they will still listen to “what they have to say.”
“We learned that Blinken wanted to talk on the phone when we were on tour in Africa. He was on TV, and a day or so later the official request came,” Lavrov said in Tashkent.
The Russian explained that, at the 2021 Geneva summit, Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin had resolved that they would appoint special officials to investigate the issue and delve into solutions, so Foreign Affairs is on the sidelines.
If the talks take place, Blinken and Lavrov will speak for the first time since Russia decided to invade Ukraine on February 24. The last contact between both diplomatic referents took place weeks before.
Pressure in the United States on the Biden administration increased from the families of those detained on Russian soil, especially after the case of Britney Griner, a double Olympic basketball medalist who has been detained since February.
As published by the chain ”, from Washington they will propose an exchange that includes Griner (imprisoned on drug-related charges) and Paul Whelan (a Navy veteran who is serving a sentence after being sentenced for espionage work).
In exchange they will release Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer jailed for killing citizens and selling weapons to former Colombian FARC guerrillas.
© AFP – Nicolas Asfouri, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Mladen Antonov
In his official speech, Blinken remarked that they raised a “substantial” proposal, something that did not go down well in the Kremlin and provoked criticism from Peskov.
“These matters do not admit leaks to the press. Agreements already reached are usually disclosed,” he said on Thursday.
Lavrov and support for “one China”
The Russian diplomat also referred to the territorial autonomy of the Asian giant. This happens after Xi Jingping and Biden had a “sincere” talk in the last few hours, where the US president ratified the position of maintaining the status quo.
“The Kremlin’s position on China’s existence as one remains unchanged,” Lavrov said, endorsing a potential military reaction on Taiwan.
“We see no harm in respecting the principle of Chinese sovereignty,” he added at the press conference in Uzbekistan.
Beijing’s alarms went off after the possibility emerged that the president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, could make a trip to Taiwan, which would be considered official support for Taipei.
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