Blinken says he had phone call with Paul Whelan, former American Marine detained in Russia

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had a phone call with Paul Whelan, a former American Marine who is wrongly detained in Russia, according to the U.S. government. 

Blinked said he spoke to Whelan on Monday. 

“Yesterday, as it happens, I spoke on the phone with Paul Whelan,” Blinken said during his remarks at the “Hostage Diplomacy as an International Security Threat” event at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. 

The secretary of State did not give any additional details about the call with Whelan, who was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 on spying allegations. 

“Our intensive efforts to bring Paul home continue every single day. And they will, until he and Evan Gershkovich and every other American wrongfully detained is back with their loved ones,” Blinken said while referencing Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested last year for espionage-related allegations. The U.S. and his employer said he was wrongfully detained. 

Whelan, an American who worked as a security guard when he was arrested, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. 

Blinken also highlighted the Biden administration’s push to rescue and “bring home the remaining hostages in Gaza.” He added the Biden administration is working on a hostage release proposal with the nations in the Middle East. 

In January, President Biden met with Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan, “to discuss the Administration’s continued efforts to secure Paul’s release from Russia.” 

In an interview with WTOP last year, Whelan said he is “extremely concerned” he could be left behind in Russia, since in his view, the Kremlin has keyed in on “one-for-one exchanges” that could bring Gershkovich back and leave him behind. 

The Hill has reached out to the State Department for comment.