Moscow, Russia.- Russia on Thursday released a US Army veteran who had been detained at a border post with Poland for nine months, negotiator and former US politician Bill Richardson announced.
Taylor Dudley had been in custody since April 2022 and was one of several American detainees whom Richardson and US authorities were seeking to release.
Negotiations for the release were done “quietly,” Richardson said.
“As we celebrate Taylor’s safe return, we remain deeply concerned about the fate of Paul Whelan and committed to working towards his return,” it added.
Former US military man Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison for “espionage”, despite his denials.
The United States has worked to secure his release ever since. President Joe Biden vowed in December that he would “never” give up efforts to achieve this, after US basketball star Brittney Griner was released in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“Unfortunately, Moscow is treating Paul’s (Whelan) case differently than Brittney’s, and while we failed to secure Paul’s release, we will never give up,” Biden said at the time.
