Naryshkin says there is a channel of communication between Russia and the U.S. on prisoner exchange

There is a channel of communication between Russia and the United States on prisoner exchange. Sergei Naryshkin, director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), said this on December 14.

"There is a communication channel," he told reporters.

Earlier, on December 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson that Russia and the United Statesinteract through "closed channels" of communication mainly on the topic of exchanging people serving sentences in the states. In addition, Washington through such channels duplicates publicly announced theses on the Ukrainian crisis.

On August 1, the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War took place. It involved 26 people from prisons of seven countries: Russia, Belarus, Slovenia, the United States, Germany, Poland and Norway. The prisoner transfer procedure took place in the Turkish capital Ankara. 10 released went to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin personally met them at the airport and promised to present them with awards.