Gigin to Scholz: A person, who blows up a railroad, is no political prisoner

Representatives of the ruling circles of the West try to manipulate the terms to describe the exchange of prisoners between Russia, the USA, and Germany, BelTA learned from Vadim Gigin, Director General of the National Library of Belarus, Chairman of the Board of the republican state public association Belarusian Society Znanie.
BelTA reported earlier that Russia, the USA, and Germany swapped 26 prisoners in the Ankara airport on 1 August. The prisoners, who were exchanged, included the German citizen Rico Krieger, who had been pardoned by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko. Later on in a special statement for mass media German Chancellor Olaf Scholz thanked European countries and the USA for assistance with the exchange of “former political prisoners from Russia and Belarus, citizens of Germany” despite the fact that Rico Krieger has been found guilty on charges specified by six articles of the Criminal Code and has been sentenced to capital punishment in Belarus.
Vadim Gigin said: “Representatives of Western ruling circles are trying to manipulate the terms in the face of this situation. A person, who blows up a railroad, is no political prisoner. The goal is obvious: to put a brave face on the defeat. Although they had a chance (Olaf Scholz had one, too) to exploit the situation and make steps for a genuine de-escalation, for something that people call the easing of international relations.”
Speaking about the prisoner swap, the expert described it as a great accomplishment of international politics in current conditions. “It was a result of very complicated diplomatic actions, political decisions, and the work of security agencies. Moreover, if we compare it to the time of the Cold War, we would be hard pressed to recall such a complicated swap operation. Certainly, it created opportunities for establishing a dialogue. And they remain in place,” he believes.
Nevertheless, Vadim Gigin stressed that by making such statements Olaf Scholz puts in question the possibility of further establishment of the dialogue: “Partially he follows cliches and stereotypes. On the other hand, it is an element of propaganda impact. It creates information noise in order to confuse the issue.”
The expert also pointed out that the fact that the West went ahead with the exchange of Russian citizens, who had been imprisoned in Russia, and approved a concrete list, is very illustrative. “It confirms that the Russian citizens, who Russia handed over to the West, are Western influence agents. In other words, the West confirmed that they are Western people, Western agents. And all the talks about some democratic community, political prisoners, and alleged leaders of the civil society are nothing more than information noise. Everyone, who went to the West [as a result of the prisoner swap], are genuine agents of the United States of America and their European satellites,” Vadim Gigin concluded.