MOSCOW — The U.S. ambassador to Russia met Wednesday with imprisoned American Paul Whelan, who's serving a 16-year sentence on an espionage conviction that each Washington and Whelan dispute.

Ambassador Lynne Tracy traveled to the jail colony about 350 kilometers (220 miles) east of Moscow the place Whelan is held, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller informed reporters.

“We believe Paul continues to show tremendous courage in the face of his wrongful detention. Ambassador Tracy reiterated to him that President Biden and Secretary (of State Antony) Blinken are committed to bringing him home,” he mentioned. “Secretary Blinken had a call with Paul Whelan around a month ago, a little under a month ago, and delivered that same message to him: that we are working very hard to bring him home and we will continue to do so.”

The 53-year-old Whelan, a company safety director and former Marine, was detained in Moscow in 2018 and convicted in 2020.

The Biden administration had hoped to safe Whelan’s launch throughout the negotiations on the prisoner change that ultimately freed American basketball star Brittney Griner from a Russian jail in December.

Analysts have identified that Moscow could also be utilizing jailed Americans as bargaining chips in hovering U.S.-Russian tensions over the Kremlin’s army operation in Ukraine.

Another American jailed in Russia is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested March 29 and accused of making an attempt to acquire categorised info.

Gershkovich is the primary U.S. correspondent because the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying prices, which his household and the newspaper vehemently deny.

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