Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said that more than 60 Russian "hostages" were serving prison sentences in the United States, the result of what he called an illegal global hunt for Russians by U.S. intelligence services.
Vershinin's remarks, made in an interview to Russia's state-owned news agency RIA published on Tuesday, come as Washington is seeking a new prisoner swap with Moscow amid speculation about which captives Russia may want freed in such a deal.
Vershinin did not touch on the possible scope of such an exchange, but said:
