The White House has outrightly refused to negotiate with Al Qaeda for the release of its citizen, who was kidnapped by the terrorist outfit in Pakistan last year.
In a video message, 70-year-old aid expert Warren Weinstein had urged President Barack Obama to save his life.
"The President is aware of it. I do not believe he's seen it, or I do not know that he's seen it. We remain greatly
concerned for Weinstein's safety and his well-being," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
"Our hearts go out to him and his family. We condemn his kidnapping in the strongest terms and call for his immediate release. The United States government will continue making every effort to see Weinstein released safety to his family, but we cannot and will not negotiate with Al Qaeda," Carney said in response to a question.
Meanwhile, the state department too refused to make any concessions to terrorists. "As you know, we don't make concessions to terrorists," state department spokesman, Mark Toner, told reporters.
"We obviously remain very, very concerned about the safety and well-being of Weinstein. We want to call - or we have called, and continue to call for his immediate release, and we continue to cooperate closely with Pakistani authorities on the ongoing investigation.We are obviously also in close contact with Weinstein's family, offering appropriate consular assistance as they requested," he said.
"We think he's probably or most likely being held in the tribal areas of Pakistan, but we don't have any way to confirm that," Toner said.
