Russia, US Continue Dialogue on Prisoner Swaps

Russia and the United States continue dialogue on prisoner swaps as the two countries’ special bodies remain in contact, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told journalists on Thursday.

"Dialogue on the issue never takes place in the form of continuous exchanges of messages but in the form of messages and responses. In between, internal processes are carried out," he said, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

"Our special bodies are in contact with the US ones," Ryabkov noted.

"I can’t rule out any new decisions [on prisoner swaps] but I have nothing to add at this point," he added.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Donald Trump of the United States discussed a nine-for-nine prisoner swap in a phone call on May 19.

The implementation of the two leaders’ agreement on prisoner swaps began last winter. On February 13, Alexander Vinnik, charged in the US with being involved in the management of a cryptocurrency exchange, was exchanged for Marc Fogel, detained in Russia on drug smuggling charges. On April 10, Artur Petrov, charged in the US with supplying microelectronics to the Russian army, was swapped for Ksenia Karelina, convicted in Russia of high treason.