"I think we had a very good hearing and the questions to both sides were even handed. We’re hopeful for a favorable ruling," Tarasov said after an appeal hearing.
Earlier on Tuesday, Tarasov presented oral arguments to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in an attempt to overturn Yaroshenko’s conviction.
The arguments included references to strained relations between the United States and Russia, which Tarasov said "declined as a result of Yaroshenko’s conviction."
Moreover, Tarasov made mention of a recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State John Kerry in which Yaroshenko’s case was discussed.
"This was critical because we have the interests of a major world power implicated and very much offended by Yaroshenko’s kidnapping and torture," Tarasov stated.
A US court can render a decision on Yaroshenko’s appeal within the next month, Tarasov said.
"The decision should be handed down in the near future although that could vary in length from perhaps a month to a week," Tarasov said following an appeal hearing.
Yaroshenko, sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to import more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the United States, was arrested in Liberia in 2010 and was later extradited to the United States by Liberian authorities.
