Kremlin: U.S.-Israeli woman jailed in Russia has not yet sought pardon

The Kremlin said on Friday that the possible release of Naama Issachar, a U.S.-Israeli woman jailed in Russia on drug charges, was being held up because she had not yet formally asked to be granted a pardon. Israel has called on Russia to release Issachar, who was sentenced by a Russian court to seven-and-a-half years in jail for drug offenses in October.

During a trip to Israel on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin told Issachar's mother that "everything will be okay" for her daughter. The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said it was impossible for Issachar to be granted a presidential pardon without her first formally requesting one.