Biden reaffirms commitment to freeing Paul Whelan in call to sister

July 9 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden called Paul Whelan's sister and "reaffirmed that he is committed" to ending the former Marine's detainment in Russia "as soon as possible," the White House said in a statement.

The White House issued a statement to multiple outlets revealing Biden spoke on the phone Friday with Elizabeth Whelan, sister of Paul Whelan, 52, who was arrested at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and convicted of espionage charges.

Whelan, a former Marine and former security executive, denied the charges. He is serving a 16-year hard labor sentence at a Mordovia prison camp.

"Today, President Biden called Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of Paul Whelan who has been wrongfully detained by Russia since 2018. President Biden reaffirmed that he is committed to bringing Paul home as soon as possible, and the U.S. government will continue its efforts to secure the release of Paul as well as Brittney Griner and all other Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world," The White House statement said.

Elizabeth Whelan said Wednesday that her family was disappointed to learn Biden had called Griner's wife earlier in the week. The WNBA star was arrested at a Moscow airport in February on accusations of possession of cannabis oil. She pleaded guilty to drug charges Thursday and faces up to 10 years in prison.

"I want Brittney home as much as anybody else does. But why is Paul not getting the same type of level of attention? Why are the Whelans not getting a call? Why is Paul not going to have a letter written by the president?" Elizabeth Whelan told CNN on Wednesday.

She told The Detroit News on Saturday that she was "quite surprised" by the Friday phone call.

"I was truly touched that President Biden would take the time to reassure me, as he did, that work is ongoing to get Paul out of Russia and back home to Michigan," she said.

Whelan said her Wednesday statements came from a place of emotion.

"I have always had faith that work was taking place behind the scenes, although earlier this week I did wonder if perhaps somehow Paul's case was falling to the wayside when I heard about the president's call to Cherelle Griner," she said. "I couldn't help but react emotionally to that news. It's so difficult for a family to understand exactly what is going on, as so much of these negotiations have to be kept quiet."