- United States envoy to the United Nations Linda-Thomas Greenfield demands freedom of American detainees held in Russia.
- She confronted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the United Nations Security Council.
- The two detainees were previously identified as former marine Pual Whelan and reported Evan Gershkovich.
United States envoy to the United Nations Linda-Thomas Greenfield confronted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the UN Security Council held on Monday, demanding the freedom of detainees in Russia.
The meeting was led by Lavrov and was called "Maintenance of International Peace and Security." This was because Russia holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council. The last time that Moscow had such authority was in February last year when it began its invasion of Ukraine.
US Envoy to UN Confronts Russian Foreign Minister
Greenfield called for the immediate release of Whelan and Gershkovich and let them come home to the United States. Washington was unable to negotiate Whelan's release last year when two other Americans were brought back from being detained in Russia, as per CNN.
The ambassador added that the detained individuals were being used as "political bargaining chips" and "human pawns." Greenfield said that the situation was simply Russia using humans as pawns in what she called a strategy of weakness. She argued that such actions were not those made by a responsible country.
United States President Joe Biden's administration formally designated Gershkovich earlier this month as "wrongfully detained" in Russia. Authorities in Moscow arrested him in late March over allegations of espionage.
The Wall Street Journal, which the reporter worked for, alongside various press freedom groups, has dismissed the accusations against Gerskovich as being baseless. Furthermore, Washington has continued to call on Russia to release the journalist.
On the other hand, Whelan was previously sentenced to 16 years in prison, that was in 2020 over espionage charges that the US government also rejected as false. The marine's sister, Elizabeth, attended the UN Security Council on Monday, according to Aljazeera.
Demanding Release of Detained Individuals
Thomas-Greenfield urged Lavrov to look directly into Elizabeth's eyes and see her suffering over her brother's continued detention. She noted that she wanted the Russian foreign minister to see what it was like to miss a family member for four years and that he was locked up simply because he was being used as a pawn in political games.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan took a moment later in the day to "recognize and lift up" Elizabeth's remarks during a White House press briefing. He said that she was an "incredible voice" for all those outraged by Whelan's wrongful detention.
Sullivan also criticized Russia for allegedly having "spurned" attempts of the US government to bring Whelan back to his home country. He added that they would continue to work on getting the former marine back home and Gerskovich.
Thomas-Greenfield that Whelan's situation was simply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the other hand, she said that Gerskovich was just doing his job as a journalist when he was wrongfully detained by Russian authorities, said The Hill.
