U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke in Washington Tuesday at an event on hostage diplomacy. Mr. Blinken said that a coalition of nations—numbering some 74 members plus the EU—have signed on to the Initiative Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, thus continuing their work to negotiate the release of the many people, including U.S. citizens, wrongfully detained abroad, as well as the 130 remaining Gaza hostages.
Mr. Blinken touted the opening up of a global network of people within and without government entities who are working on the initiative to have all those held as “political pawns” freed.
The Secretary also said that on Monday, he had a phone call with Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who remains imprisoned in Russia after being convicted of spying, and said efforts will continue to bring him home. Mr. Whelan continues to maintain his innocence.
