Interfax: Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice agree on possible ways to resolve extradition issue

FBI Headquarters Building file photo

MOSCOW. Nov 22 (Interfax) – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and the U.S. Department of Justice have agreed on ways to resolve extradition issues, which is a serious obstacle in the criminal justice cooperation of the two countries.

“During the negotiations with substantial delegations of the U.S. Department of Justice held recently in Moscow, an agreement has been reached on various ways to resolve this issue amid no bilateral extradition agreement,” International and Legal Cooperation Department Head of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, Saak Karapetian, told Interfax on Friday.

Due to the fact that the U.S. authorities are not for concluding the extradition agreement, the parties have decided to use the principle of mutuality when needed, Karapetian said. “We have agreed to resolve issues emerging in this sphere on the basis of the principle of mutuality and other forms of cooperation,” the official said.

Following the talks “held constructively,” the parties have also agreed to cooperate in investigating a number of high-profile criminal cases, including major financial fraud in Russia and money laundering in the United States and other countries,” Karapetian said.

“Our U.S. colleagues assured us that they were ready to take all necessary measures in order to investigate these crimes and to consider jointly the possibility of returning to Russia funds stolen,” Karapetian said.

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