Poland outraged by alleged GRU agent pardon: Duda issues statement
Photo: Polish President Andrzej Duda (Getty Images)
As part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and the West, Poland has extradited GRU agent Pavel Rubtsov. He has not been pardoned, states Polish President Andrzej Duda on Twitter (X).
After Warsaw agreed to extradite Rubtsov to Russia, questions arose in Poland about the grounds for releasing the Russian national. The government assured that Rubtsov was included in the exchange list in accordance with legal provisions.
Duda denied rumors that the Russian agent had been pardoned.
"I want to inform all interested parties that, in connection with the prisoner exchange operation with Russia conducted by the US authorities (with the support of allies, including the Polish authorities) in Ankara, no proceedings regarding the issuance of a pardon have been conducted or are being conducted at the office of the President of the Republic of Poland. Therefore, I unequivocally deny all rumors and gossip that have emerged on this matter," he wrote.
Pavel Rubtsov was arrested in Poland in February 2022. He posed as Spanish journalist Pablo Gonzalez and was accused of espionage.
In Poland, discussions have started following the exchange, as journalist Andrzej Poczobut, who was arrested in Belarus, has not yet been released.
Large exchange between Russia and the West
On August 1, Russia and Western countries conducted a large prisoner exchange, releasing 26 individuals.
Russia handed over Kremlin critics, convicted journalists, and politicians to the West. In return, the U.S. and its partners released spies, and Germany extradited killer Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin.
According to Reuters, negotiations for the exchange lasted two years.
