US Offers Russia Deal For Release of Brittney Griner
The United States government has made Russia a "substantial proposal" as part of efforts to secure the release of basketball player Brittney Griner.
Ms Griner had been detained in Russia after she was found with marijuana in a Moscow airport. On July 7, Ms Griner admitted to bringing cannabis into the country. However, she maintained that she had packed in a hurry and did not intend to break the law.
According to National News US, this information about a proposal was made by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. It also includes plans to aid the release of Paul Whelan who is detained in Russia as well.
He went on to say that he would speak directly to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the coming days, in what would constitute their first discussion since Russia invaded Ukraine five months ago.
Commenting on the deal, Mr Blinken said, “Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope to move us towards a resolution.”
He did not give out details of the deal but said that the Biden administration "was not only directly involved", but also that President Biden "signs off on any proposal that we make, certainly when it comes to Americans who are being arbitrarily detained abroad".
Although the details of the deal have not been disclosed, CNN reported on Wednesday that the US government would release Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer in exchange for the release of Griner and Whelan.
“I can’t and won’t get into any of the details of what we proposed to the Russians … My hope would be, in speaking to Foreign Minister Lavrov, I can advance the efforts to bring them home,” Mr Blinken said.
Ms Griner has now been held in Russian custody for four and a half months. Her detention has been shifted multiple times and her requests to be detained at home were denied. U.S. State Department officials have classified Griner as “wrongfully detained,” and dozens of human and civil rights organizations have called for Biden to negotiate her release.