Antony Blinken talks to Russia-detained US citizen Paul Whelan, vows effort to free him
- The US secretary of state also named Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March and accused of spying
- Putin had said in an interview with conservative US talk show host Tucker Carlson that ‘an agreement can be reached’ to free the journalist
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that he spoke with Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in Russia, as he vowed sustained efforts to free him as well as jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich.
Speaking alongside his Canadian counterpart at an event on hostage diplomacy, Blinken said he spoke by telephone with Whelan on Monday.
“Our intensive efforts to bring Paul home continue every single day, and they will until he and Evan Gershkovich and every other American wrongfully detained is back with their loved ones,” Blinken said at the Wilson Centre, a think tank in Washington.
Whelan, who was working in security for a US vehicle parts company in Russia, was detained in December 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence for espionage, charges he and the US government deny.
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Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in March 2023 on a reporting trip in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.
