Biden's warning to Putin about Navalny 0:41
Geneva, Switzerland (CNN) -
US President Joe Biden said he had discussed the cases of two Americans detained in Russia during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday and vowed to "follow." that discussion.
"I raised the case of two unjustly imprisoned American citizens, Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed," Biden said during a press conference Wednesday after the summit in Geneva.
“[The subject of] Families of detained Americans came up and we discussed it.
We will continue with that discussion.
I'm not going to abandon that, ”he added.
Putin talks about Navalny, but does not mention his name 1:22
A senior administration official who briefed journalists on the summit talks declined to offer any details "other than saying that the president was very clear about the need to resolve these cases."
The families of both men expressed their appreciation that the US president referred to them by name.
"The Reeds were very happy to hear a US president finally call out Trevor's name, on this, his 671st day wrongfully detained," family spokesman Jonathan Franks said in a statement to CNN.
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"We are grateful that President Biden raised Paul's case, by name, in the framework of this important meeting with President Putin," Paul Whelan's brother, David Whelan, told CNN in a statement.
In his own press conference, Putin also noted that the cases had come up and said that "a certain compromise could be found there."
"The Russian Foreign Ministry and the US State Department will work in that direction," said the Russian president.
David Whelan said the family is "hopeful that when President Putin talks about possible compromises around prisoners from both countries, that could lead to the release of Paul."
"But I reiterate my thanks to President Biden for taking the initiative to hold the meeting and address the case, face to face, with President Putin," he said, adding that "they could not wait any longer" and that "they will wait to see what happens. ».
Both families, as well as Paul Whelan himself, had asked Biden to address their cases in his meeting with his Russian counterpart.
Russia detains American on suspicion of espionage
In an exclusive interview with CNN earlier this month, Paul Whelan had asked Biden during the meeting to "aggressively discuss and resolve" the issue of US citizens detained for political purposes.
"Decisive action is needed immediately" to stop the "kidnapping" of US citizens, Whelan had said in a phone call from the Russian labor camp where he is serving a 16-year sentence on a spy charge he vehemently denies.
This is not a question of Russia against me;
it is a question of Russia against the United States, and the United States has to respond to this hostage diplomacy situation and resolve it as soon as possible, ”said Whelan, who is a former Marine.
At the time, he told CNN he had "a positive feeling" about the meeting between the leaders of the United States and Russia, calling it "a good step in the right direction."
Whelan, who is also an Irish, British and Canadian citizen, was detained in a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities, who alleged that he was involved in an intelligence operation.
Before Wednesday's summit, Paula and Joey Reed had pleaded with Biden to work toward an agreement that would guarantee the release of their son, who recently contracted COVID-19 in a Russian prison.
"He is being held as a pawn to try to obtain concessions in a political dispute between our two countries in which he has nothing to do with it, and it is time they let him go home to Texas," the two wrote in a statement obtained. first on CNN.
They say he once protected Biden.
The parents of a former Marine imprisoned in Russia want the president to defend their son
Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison in July 2020 for endangering "the life and health" of Russian policemen in an altercation after a night of drinking.
He and his family have denied the charges and the US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan called the trial "theater of absurdity."
- Betsy Klein, Zahra Ullah and Matthew Chance contributed to this report.
Joe Biden, Prisoners, Vladimir Putin
