DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images/NBC News
- Trevor Reed is serving nine years in Russian prison for drunkenly assaulting Moscow police officers.
- Biden is reportedly expected to bring up Reed's case in his first meeting with Putin on Wednesday.
- In an NBC News interview this week, Putin called Reed "just a drunk" who "got himself s---faced."
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called a former US Marine who is imprisoned in Russia a "drunk" who "got himself s---faced and started a fight" in an interview ahead of his first summit with President Joe Biden.
Trevor was sentenced to nine years in prison last July after being convicted of assaulting two Russian police officers while drunk in 2019. Last month he tested positive for COVID-19 in prison.
John Sullivan, the US ambassador to Russia, called the case against the 29-year-old "flimsy," and Reed's family have called on President Joe Biden to intervene.
Biden and Putin are set to meet for their first summit in Switzerland on Wednesday, and the US president is expected to bring up Reed's imprisonment with his Russian counterpart, NBC News reported, citing Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
However, in an interview with NBC News aired on Monday, Putin said Reed's sentence was fair and labelled him a drunk.
"Your guy - the - Marine - he's just a drunk and - a troublemaker. As they say here - he got himself - s---faced and - started a fight. Among other things, he - he hit a cop. It's - it's nothing. It's just a common crime. There is nothing to it," Putin said.
However, Putin said that he was open to a possible prisoner swap.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
In an interview with CNN's "New Day" later on Monday, Reed's parents called Putin's remarks "offensive" and "difficult to hear," and called on Biden to bring him home.
"He's being held as a pawn to try and leverage concessions in a political dispute between our two countries in which he has no part," Paula and Joey Reed wrote in a statement, per CNN.
-New Day (@NewDay) June 14, 2021
Biden has not addressed Reed's case publicly, but White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in May that the US had raised the case "at the highest level," Reuters said.
At a May meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Blinken asked that Russia release Reed and Paul Whelan, another former US Marine who was accused of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison last year.
"The Secretary reiterated President Biden's resolve to protect American citizens and act firmly in defense of US interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies. This includes the release of Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed so that they are able to return home to their families in the US," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Intelligence sources told Insider last year that Russia could be trying to use Whelan's detention to lure then-President Donald Trump into a prisoner swap.
Biden is also expected to press Putin over a spate of ransomware attacks on major US companies conducted by hackers with suspected links to Russia.
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