WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken revealed on Wednesday that the United States “put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago” in talks with Russia to secure the release of basketball star Brittney Griner and another arrested American, Paul Whelan.
A person briefed on the negotiations said that in June the United States offered to trade a captured Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, for Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan, and that President Biden – who is under increasing political pressure to help the Americans – had supported the offer.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Washington, Mr. Blinken said the United States and Russia “communicated repeatedly and directly about that proposal,” and that he expected to bring it up directly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov soon.
Mr Blinken would not provide additional details on the proposal, or describe any Russian reaction, and said he did not want to jeopardize sensitive negotiations with Moscow. Mr Blinken last spoke with Mr Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, at a meeting in Geneva in January, weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 led to an almost complete halt to US diplomacy with Russia.
Mr. Blinken declined to confirm a DailyExpertNews report that Mr. Biden had agreed to swap Mr. Bout, whose release the Kremlin has been demanding for years, for Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan. Mr. Bout, known as the “merchant of death,” is serving a 25-year federal prison sentence for conspiracy to sell guns to people who said they planned to kill Americans.
In response to a question last week about possible trade with Mr. Bolt, William J. Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, sounded unenthusiastic, calling Mr. Bolt “a creep”.
Mr Bout, 55, is a former Soviet soldier who made a fortune in the global arms trade before being caught in a federal covert operation. Russian officials have pressured his case for years, and in recent weeks Russian media outlets had directly linked his case with Ms Griner’s.
Russia has been detaining Ms Griner, 31, since mid-February, when she was arrested at a Moscow airport on charges of hash oil found in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to the drug charges against her, saying in a court outside Moscow on Wednesday that she accidentally packed a small amount of the cannabis-related substance, which she uses on a doctor’s orders to manage pain. Russia has notoriously strict drug laws. At her trial on Wednesday, she testified to her ordeal in navigating an unfamiliar legal system.
Mr Whelan, 52, a former director of a naval and security company, was detained in a Moscow hotel in 2019 and charged with espionage. The State Department has classified both Mr. Whelan and Ms. Griner as “improperly detained” and referred their cases to a special hostage-taking office.
In a statement, Mr Whelan’s brother David said the family had just learned about the US proposal.
The fate of Brittney Griner in Russia
The American basketball player has been held in a Russian prison for months on charges of smuggling hash oil into the country.
“Our family appreciates the Biden administration seeking Paul’s release using the resources available,” he said. “We hope that the Russian government will respond to the US government and accept this or some other concession that will allow Paul to come home to his family.”
Ms Griner’s Russian defense team said it had learned about the US offer through the news and had not taken part in the discussions. Legally, the prisoner exchange is only possible after the court has issued a ruling, the lawyers said.
“In any case, we would be very happy if Brittney can come home and hope it will be soon,” said one of her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina.
Although he declined to discuss details, Mr Blinken said the US government was trying to strike a balance between the need to release wrongfully held prisoners around the world as it worked “to strengthen the global standard against these arbitrary detentions.” , against what is a truly horrific practice.”
Critics say prisoner swaps encourage foreign governments and terrorist groups to arrest or kidnap Americans. But the United States traded with Moscow in April, returning a convicted Russian drug smuggler in exchange for Trevor Reed, a former US Marine arrested in Moscow in 2019 on charges of assaulting a police officer. Biden government officials suggested that trade was an exceptional case made urgent by Mr Reed’s declining health.