US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a rare direct conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, yesterday demanded the immediate release of an American journalist who had recently been arrested.
Blinken conveyed the US government’s “great concern” over the unreasonable detention of the American reporter and called for his immediate release, the State Department said. He called on Russia to release long-detained US citizen Paul Whelan.
Since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, phone calls between the two foreign ministers have become rare.
Lavrov goes to court
The Russian Foreign Ministry said after the meeting that Lavrov asked Blinken to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities, which are in line with Russian law and international obligations. The court will decide the reporter’s fate, Lavrov said.