For the release of American basketball player Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, the United States has made “a series of proposals” to Russia, but Moscow has not indicated a willingness to engage in fruitful negotiations, according to U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday.
When asked about Griner’s status at a White House briefing, Sullivan declined to comment. According to her attorneys, she was moved last week from a prison facility outside of Moscow and was headed to a penal colony to complete her term.
US’ “substantial” proposal to Russia for bringing Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan back home
Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State revealed that the US made a “substantial” prisoner swap proposal to Russia to bring back Griner. The WNBA star was detained and Paul Whelan is serving a sentence in Russia. According to a CNN report, the US offered Viktor “The Merchant of Death” Bout to Russia. Bout is a Russian arms dealer.
He is serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people planning to kill Americans. Blinken added he will be engaging with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister. “My hope would be that in speaking to Foreign Minister Lavrov, I can advance the efforts to bring them home,” he stated.
President Biden is directly involved with the ongoing negotiations and signed off on the offer. President Biden “signs off on any proposal that we make, certainly when it comes to Americans like Griner, who are being arbitrarily detained abroad, including in this specific case. There is utility in sending clear, direct messages to the Russians on key priorities for us. These include the return of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, and following through on the grain agreement,” he added.