Russia Rejects US Proposal for Release of 2 ‘Wrongfully Detained’ Americans

The United States said Tuesday that it had made a “significant proposal” to secure the release of two “wrongfully detained” Americans, namely Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, but it was rejected by Russia. Mr. Gershkovich is a Wall Street Journal reporter, while Mr. Whelan is a former U.S. Marine who worked as a corporate security executive in Michigan. Both were detained in Russia on espionage charges. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Dec. 5 that “a new and significant proposal” has been made in recent weeks to secure their release, but Russia refused to accept it. Mr. Miller declined to provide specific details about the proposal, but he clarified that it was solely intended to secure the release of Mr. Whelan and Mr. Gershkovich and not any other detainees....