Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Pence lauds Harris as 'experienced debater'; Trump, Biden diverge over debate prep Trump's foreign policy successes confound his detractors It's time for a Jackson-Vanik Amendment for China MORE is demanding answers from Russia after it detained a U.S. citizen on espionage charges.

Reuters reports that Pompeo told journalists in Brasilia, where he is attending Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's inauguration, that the U.S. Consulate in Russia hopes to gain access to American Paul Whelan within hours and that the U.S. needs an explanation for his arrest.

"We are hopeful within the next hours we will get consular access to see him and get a chance to learn more," Pompeo said, according to the Daily Mail.

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Russian security forces arrested Whelan during a spy operation on Friday, according to state media reports, but the Russian government has yet to give an official reason for his detention.

"The investigative department of the FSB of Russia against a US citizen opened a criminal case under article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ['Espionage']," Russia's FSB agency told the news agency Tass.

If convicted, Whelan reportedly faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Whelan's arrest comes weeks after Maria Butina, a Russian woman accused of operating as an unregistered foreign agent in the U.S. with the purpose of setting up back channels to the Russian government within conservative organizations, pleaded guilty to acting as a Russian agent.

Russian and U.S. relations have deteriorated over accusations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections, as well as Russia's actions in Ukraine which most recently included the capture of several Ukrainian sailors.

In a holiday letter Sunday to President Trump Donald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could 'scar and damage' economy MORE, Russia's President Vladimir Putin "stressed that Russia-US relations are the most important factor behind ensuring strategic stability and international security, and reaffirmed that Russia is open to dialogue with the United States on the most extensive agenda," the Kremlin previously said in a statement over the weekend.