The White House has responded this Thursday to the criticism received by the release of russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, in a prisoner exchange with the aim of bringing back USA American professional basketball player Brittney Griner, jailed in Russia on drug trafficking charges.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre has acknowledged that the "immediate results" of this measure "may seem unfair or arbitrary"as "negotiations for the release of prisoners is sometimes very complicated".
However, he has qualified that Washington has carried out a safety assessment in the lead up to the deal for the exchange, concluding that the arms dealer would not pose a threat to the security of the United States.
"The president (of the United States, Joe Biden) has not taken this decision lightly. We want to make it clear. He believed that this was the right thing to do for Brittney’s safety."explained the spokeswoman.
Bout, known as the “war merchant” for his responsibility in arms trafficking, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 by order of the United States and was serving a 25-year prison sentence to date.
Jean-Pierre has indicated that while celebrating Brittney’s homecoming, the Biden Administration continues to be in contact with the family of former US Marine Paul Whelan, jailed in Russia for espionage.
"The Russians were not willing to negotiate in good faith for the release of Paul Whelan at this time."has announced. "We are committed to securing the release of Paulbut we will not go into details"has added.
In an interview with CNN, Whelan has stated that he is disappointed not to have been included in the trade: "I am very disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the fourth anniversary of my arrest approaches.".
"I was arrested for a crime that never happened (…) I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here"he told the aforementioned chain in a telephone call from prison.