Gershkovich's Arrest and the Dangers of Journalism 4:04

Washington (CNN) -- The Biden administration is searching around the world for options that could appeal to Russia to free illegally detained Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The United States does not currently have any high-level Russian spies in its custody, current and former U.S. officials say, prompting the need to turn to allies for help.

The Biden administration is broadening its search, reaching out to allied countries that have Russian spies in custody to assess whether they would be willing to make an exchange as part of a larger prisoner exchange package. But some U.S. officials have also been surveying allies without Russians in their custody, officials said, to get ideas on what might entice Moscow to release American prisoners.

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The White House is also exploring narrow sanctions relief, senior administration officials said.

The goal is to bring home Whelan and Gershkovich as part of the same deal, U.S. officials said privately, and two U.S. officials told CNN that the administration wants to see what creative offerings might pique Russia's interest.

The effort by U.S. officials extends to some countries that have recently arrested suspected Russian spies, including Brazil, Norway and Germany, as well as a former Soviet bloc country, to discuss the possibility of including them in any potential prisoner swaps. Germany has in its custody a former colonel in Russia's domestic spy agency named Vadim Krasikov, who is widely seen as one of the first on Russia's list of prisoners it wants back.

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Although some of these efforts predate Gershkovich's arrest, they have continued to intensify since the journalist was arrested in March, with White House officials directly involved in the matter, officials said.

"Efforts to reach allies and partners have been intense for many months and intensified further once it became clear that there was no way to bring Whelan home at the same time as Brittney Griner, given the Russian refusal to release Whelan," a senior administration official said. "That recognition prompted the U.S. government to redouble efforts with new creativity to find a way to bring Whelan home as well."

• Such was Biden's agonizing decision to accept a deal to free Brittney Griner but left Paul Whelan in Russia.

"An equitable exchange"

In March, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had put forward a "serious proposal" to secure Whelan, but that Russia had not committed to it.

Last April, the Biden administration secured the release of American Trevor Reed, who had been detained in Russia since 2019, in exchange for convicted Russian smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko.

In December, when Russia agreed to release American basketball star Griner in exchange for infamous arms dealer Viktor Bout, it refused to release Whelan, who has been unjustly detained in Russia since his arrest in 2018 on espionage charges. Bout's release was seen as an important move for the United States, though it was not enough to push for Whelan's release.

WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner arrives for a hearing at the Khimki Court outside Moscow on June 27, 2022. Credit: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty

Unlike Griner and Reed, Russia is treating Whelan and Gershkovich like spies. Over the course of years of talks, Russian officials have indicated that in exchange for Whelan, they expect someone who is connected to the Russian intelligence apparatus, current and former U.S. officials said. And U.S. officials expect Russia to likely make similar demands on Gershkovich.

While the U.S. has multiple Russian cybercriminals in custody, Russia will not entertain them as part of a settlement for Americans accused of espionage, according to current and former U.S. officials involved in past proposals put on the table with Russia.

"Russia would not trade cybercriminals for Reed or Griner, and they will definitely not accept them in an exchange for an American who was convicted of espionage or an American who was accused of espionage," said a former senior administration official involved in previous prisoner exchanges between Russia and the United States. "Russia treats espionage as a different crime, as something far more serious than anything else and they have made it clear that they expect something more significant in return. They want an equitable exchange."

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"Special channels"

As U.S. officials work with allies to find potential tradable assets, a person with knowledge of the discussions told CNN that an exhaustive list of who can be traded has yet to be finalized, adding that there is "fierce competition over who gets into the pack." The source spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss details of the discussions.

Russian officials confirmed to CNN that there are "special channels" active between the United States and Russia, but declined to specify who they want as part of an exchange. Gershkovich and Whelan are the only two Americans who have been publicly declared to be wrongfully detained in Russia.

The source told CNN that Moscow is "more interested" in the extradition of Krasikov, the former Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) colonel jailed in Germany for the murder in a Berlin park of a Georgian citizen in 2019.

It is unclear under what conditions, if any, Germany would agree to participate in a swap involving Krasikov in exchange for U.S. citizens. Russian government officials requested that the former colonel of the country's domestic spy agency be included in a prisoner swap last year, CNN reported.

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US officials quietly consulted the Germans about whether they might be willing to include Krasikov in the exchange, a senior German government source told CNN last year.

Last month, Russia's foreign minister told CNN that there are "about 60" Russian citizens in U.S. prisons "many kidnapped under dubious circumstances," indicating that Moscow may want some, or all, returned as part of any deal.

A State Department spokesperson declined to offer specific details about the negotiation process involved with the release of Gershkovich or Whelan, telling CNN, "We regularly reach out to partners around the world to discuss cases of unlawful detention and, in some cases, to seek assistance in securing release. We continue to work aggressively – using all available means – to bring home all U.S. nationals wrongfully detained or taken hostage abroad. Russia should immediately release Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan."

• Here's what we know about the arrest of The Wall Street Journal journalist in Russia

Russian spies arrested

In addition to Krasikov, other alleged Russian spies have recently been arrested by countries allied with the United States.

Late last year Norway arrested a suspected Russian spy posing as an academic who was in the country after spending years studying in Canada, according to Norway's internal security agency.

A similar case occurred with a Russian spy in Brazil late last year. Sergey Cherkasov attended Johns Hopkins University's prestigious School of Advanced International Studies, the elite foreign policy school at Johns Hopkins in Washington. After posing as a student from Brazil, Cherkasov was arrested for identity fraud last fall. The Justice Department accused Cherkasov of working for Russia's military intelligence service, and asked Brazil to extradite him last month.

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Estonia also arrested last year a Russian national who the Justice Department believes is an FSB officer. Vadim Konoshchenok allegedly tried to ship thousands of American-made bullets, semiconductors and other electronic components to Russia. The United States has requested Konoshchenok's extradition, though it is unclear whether there are simultaneous talks about his inclusion in any potential prisoner swaps.

When the U.S. requests the extradition of a Russian criminal, it doesn't necessarily mean he would be involved in any exchange, but it does spark talks between the two countries about the prisoner, which could give U.S. intelligence officials maximum cover to engage the country in the matter, a U.S. official said.

Other countries have also recently arrested suspected Russian spies, including Poland, Sweden and Slovenia.

Other options

U.S. officials warned that it could take time for these ideas to materialize, especially possibilities considered more "creative," a U.S. official said.

But identifying Russian spies in the custody of U.S. allies remains critical to ongoing efforts because the United States knows Russia places a high value on its intelligence operations.

The Justice Department has long opposed the prisoner exchange. Many justice officials believe the exchanges incentivize the detention of Americans and undermine the effort to extradite foreign criminals so they can be convicted of crimes in the United States.

Another tool the U.S. has at its disposal is sanctions relief for Russian groups accused of involvement in taking Americans hostage. Russia's Federal Security Service was sanctioned last month after being repeatedly involved in the arrest, investigation and detention of U.S. citizens illegally detained in Russia, the State Department said.

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When those sanctions were imposed, administration officials said it was possible to lift them if Americans detained in Russia were released. But current and former officials acknowledge that reversing those sanctions alone will not be enough, particularly since the FSB is already sanctioned by other authorities.

"The Russians are already so widely sanctioned, so sanctions relief is unlikely to incentivize the Russians," a second former U.S. official said.

-- CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

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