Blinken speaks on phone with Paul, who is detained in Russia on espionage charges

WASHINGTON: US State Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with American Paul Whelan, who is detained in Russia on espionage charges, CNN reported citing familiar sources.

According to the sources, Blinken asked Whelan to keep the faith, saying, "We’re doing everything we can to bring you home as soon as possible."

This is the second time Blinken has spoken to Whelan, who has been in jail in Russia for more than four years, sources said. The other call between Whelan and Blinken took place on December 30, another source told CNN.

Whelan, who is deemed to have been wrongly detained by the US government, is able to make calls from his prison camp in Mordovia but the source did not share further details about how the call to Blinken came about.

According to David Whelan, the detainee's brother, Paul also had a conversation with his parents.

He told his parents that “he was able to have a long, frank conversation with Secretary Blinken.”

David Whelan did not have further details about the call.

“I think that Secretary Blinken has obviously sent a message and that message is for Paul and for our family, that the US government is continuing to advocate for Paul and his release,” David Whelan said later on CNN’s “The Lead.”

“I think it’s also a message for the Kremlin that the US government hasn’t let up and in fact, their lead foreign policy person is willing to call a prisoner, which is, I think, astounding,” he added.

The conversation came as the Biden administration continues to reiterate to Russia the serious proposal that they put on the table for Whelan’s release more than eight months ago. Russia has not responded in a substantive way, two administration officials told CNN.

Whelan, a US citizen and former Marine, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and arrested on espionage charges, which he has consistently and vehemently denied.