"I intend to do this because I did not receive an answer from Barack Obama. Before sending a letter I will consult with the Russian Foreign Ministry in order to comply with subordination and avoid being too emotional. I hope that Trump will be wise enough to understand that [Konstantin Yaroshenko] is innocent. I think that I will manage to do that in a month. I will not use the word ‘parole’ because one asks for parole if someone is guilty," Lyubov Yaroshenko said.
Media reports suggested that the US President Donald Trump might consider the return of the jailed pilot to Russia.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry Commissioner Konstantin Dolgov, the ministry will resume active work on the issue of the jailed pilot after Trump assumed office on Friday.
Yaroshenko, sentenced to prison for conspiring to import more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the United States, was arrested in Liberia in 2010 and handed over to the US authorities. The pilot has claimed he was mistreated while in US custody. Yaroshenko has also said his health suffered significantly as he is denied proper medical care.
