Paul Whelan may be exchanged in coming months - lawyer
MOSCOW. Dec 16 (Interfax) - The lawyer of U.S. citizen Paul Whelan convicted of spying in Russia believes that the new U.S. president will expedite negotiations on Whelan's return to the home country.
"The negotiations were held under Donald Trump, but my sources said he did not want to sign the pardon order. On the contrary, Joe Biden is interested in demonstrating his significance and ability to solve problems of fellow citizens. I am sure that this [exchange] will be accomplished in the coming months," lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told Interfax.
The lawyer of Russian citizens Konstantin Yaroshenko and Viktor Bout, who are incarcerated in the United States and who, according to some information, are supposed to be exchanged for Whelan, shares this view.
"The exchange is possible. In my opinion, and most people we are communicating with, as well as representatives of the American establishment believe that the probability of exchange will grow instead of reducing with the accession of the new president," lawyer Alexei Tarasov told Interfax.
Tarasov added he had heard numerous members of the Republican and Democratic parties speaking of the need to establish contacts with Russia upon the accession of the new administration.
"Despite the harsh rhetoric displayed by Biden during the election campaign, it will be necessary to build constructive relations with Russia one way or another, and many experts and former politicians are inclined to think in this context that the exchange of prisoners would be one of the good first steps towards restoration of relations," the lawyer said.
