Russia: It is still too early to decide on the exchange of detainees with the US

The Russian Foreign Ministry states that it is still too early to comment or make decisions regarding the exchange of detainees between Russia and the United States. Recently, Russia detained a former American Marine, and on January 5, it was announced that the US had detained a Russian citizen. On January 5, Moscow announced that the United States had detained a Russian citizen named Dmitry Makarenko in the Northern Mariana Islands (a self-governing territory of the United States in the Pacific) and transferred him to the US. Russian media, citing officials from that country, reported that this detention occurred on December 29 (more than a week ago) on suspicion of espionage and sabotage. Just one day before this detention, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) had detained Paul Whelan, a former American Marine. However, the news of Mr. Whelan's detention was officially announced several days after the incident. It remains unclear when the US and Russia became aware of the detention of their citizens. The United States also has another Russian citizen, Maria Butina, in custody. Ms. Butina has admitted in a court in the US capital that she conspired against the US as a foreign agent (of Russia). However, the Kremlin has rejected the charges against her, describing them as 'completely unfounded.' Sergey Ryabkov, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, stated on January 5 that it is still too early to comment on the exchange of detainees. Mr. Ryabkov told the state news agency RIA Novosti that 'the possibility of an exchange under conditions where charges have not yet been formally filed is not feasible, and no decisions can be made at this time.' The Deputy Foreign Minister also mentioned to Interfax that 'the charges will be made public soon.' Interfax reported on January 3, citing a source described as 'an informed source,' that Russian officials had formally charged Paul Whelan, the detained American citizen. Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, stated last Wednesday that the United States had sought an explanation from the Russian government regarding Mr. Whelan's detention and 'if we determine that his detention is wrongful, we will demand his immediate release and return to the US.' Mr. Whelan's family claims he traveled to Russia to attend the wedding of one of his colleagues. Russia and the US also have other citizens detained on charges or suspicion of sabotage, conspiracy, or espionage against each other. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not provide specific comments regarding the detention of Dmitry Makarenko in the Northern Mariana Islands on Saturday. The US Embassy in Moscow, the Federal Police, or the US State Department have not yet responded to these statements. According to an indictment in a Florida jurisdiction, Mr. Makarenko was charged in June 2017 with assisting another individual named Vladimir Nevodomy in transferring unauthorized military equipment, including night vision cameras, from the US to Russia. According to available documents, Mr. Nevodomy, a Florida resident, accepted his charges in June 2018 and was sentenced to 26 months in prison.