The Russian leader tried to project an image of strength in remarks to a virtual gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a China-founded security group for Central, East and South Asian nations.

Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first international appearance - by video - since the mutiny by the Wagner Group mercenary force that shook his government late last month. Repeated efforts to arrange a prisoner swap for him have been fruitless. Marine, is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on a 2020 espionage conviction.

Whelan, an executive with a Michigan corporate security firm and an ex-U.S. “While we unfortunately do not have a breakthrough to share, we continue to pursue every avenue to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan,” a U.S. The White House was also being close-lipped about any negotiations. “They’re not willing to really talk to us about him yet.” “The Russians, however, have been playing a tough game,” Mr. Roger Carstens, President Biden’s special envoy for hostage affairs, told the Aspen Ideas Forum last week that there were no talks so far on securing the reporter’s release, despite Washington’s denials that he was a spy. Peskov’s cryptic comments were the first indication that an actual negotiation might be underway to secure Mr. Dunaev was also granted a consular visit from a Russian diplomat in recent days for the first time since his arrest in 2021 in South Korea and extradition to the U.S. Nadezhda Shumova, the head of the Russian Embassy’s consular section, told the country’s official TASS news agency that Mr.

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