killing. but also because there was a motive and the statements and behavior of russian government agencies after the crime. masco called the verdict absurd and politically motivated. but an angry german foreign minister quickly moved to expel two russian diplomats. these are not translator: discovered ordered murder is breach of law and the sovereignty of the federal republic of germany. reporter: with paul whelan languishing in a russian penal colony, serving a 16-year sentence for what the u.s. says are trumped up espionage charges, and demanding krasikov in exchange for the former marine, confirmed to cnn in august that the u.s. did inquire about krasikov, but it was never viewed as a serious request and never discussed at the highest levels of german government. a muted response when i asked
of german government. i muted response when i asked the government spokesman today. translator: that does not mean that we are confirming or denying. but that we generally do not talk about such matters in public. fred pleitgen joins. i have a said anything about a krasikov swap with we lead? yeah, i was texting anderson earlier today with vladimir putin s spokesperson. and he told me that he s absolutely not gonna comment on the matter. i asked a straightforward, are you guys still that interested in krasikov, are you willing to move in other directions. he said he believes all of these negotiations need to happen absolute silence to get the mechanics to succeed. however, we have heard from vladimir
russians. by a brutal assassination in the heart of berlin. the killer, russian national vadim krasikov, who a german court ruled, gunned his victim down on orders from moscow. the court called the state terrorism, because the judges concluded that russian government agencies were responsible for this. murder the victim, of georgia natural who fought against the russian army in the chechen war in the 90s. the court found, classic off shot him from behind. then fired more rounds at close range. jim enough that already say krasikov, he had a real russian passport. and a fake identity. and was sentenced to berlin from russia specifically for the assassination. wyatt last, year the court sentenced him for life in prison without the chance for parole. and wrote quote, the judges wrote their
putin that he does believe that exchanges are possible. between the u.s. and russia in the future. just not clear whether or not krasikov is part of russia s equation. is it clear why there was interest by russia, at least at one point on this particular prisoner? yeah, and the germans believe it s possibly two reasons. on the one hand, the germans say this man is the absolute cold blooded. and quite affective assassin as well. he works for russia special services and from that vantage point, they believe he s a big asset for the russians, that the russians simply want back. someone in germany believes that the russians baby offing to settle a score between germany in the united states. if russia could get the u.s. to pressure germany to release krasikov, it s something that could drive