Brittney Griner

Reports suggest basketball star Brittney Griner and a second American could be swapped for Viktor Bout.

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The US has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony ...

The two last met in person in Geneva in January to discuss what was then Russia’s massive military build-up along Ukraine’s border and Russian demands for NATO to reduce its presence in eastern Europe and permanently deny Ukraine membership. That stance made Wednesday’s announcement all the more startling, but Kirby said the administration had decided to make clear that a deal was on the table. Supporters of his release contend he was jailed after an overly aggressive US sting operation, and the judge who sentenced him told The Associated Press this month that she believed he had already served enough prison time. “There is utility to conveying clear, direct messages to the Russians on key priorities for us,” including the release of Griner and Whelan, he said. Blinken's comments marked the first time the US government has publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure the release of Griner, who was arrested on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport in February and testified Wednesday at her trial. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release," Blinken said.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 25, ...

Russia has long pointed to Whelan’s multiple citizenships — he is also a citizen of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada in addition to the United States — and suspicious information contained on a flash drive as evidence of his epionage activities, AP reported in 2019. Maria Blagovolina, one of Griner’s lawyers in Russia, argued that the basketball star’s doctor-prescribed use of marijuana for chronic pain indicate she “may have used it for medical but not recreational purposes.” Griner, who plays basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was arrested by Russian authorities in February after customs officials found two cannabis vape cartridges in her carry-on luggage.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is placing an offer on the table to get WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan out of Russia.

Now, multiple outlets are reporting that the offer is to swap the pair for an imprisoned Russian arms dealer. Viktor Bout, also known as the “Merchant of Death,” is serving a 25-year federal sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people he knew were intent on killing Americans. WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is placing an offer on the table to get WNBA star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan out of Russia.

The basketball star is detained in Russia, far from her teammates and loved ones. But there are signs she has held on to her fighting spirit.

Griner’s decision to use photos as a means of expression reveals a deeper message about the uncertainty of her future. A few weeks prior, she was photographed holding another picture of WNBA players wearing her No 42 jersey at this year’s WNBA All-Star game. When American cities were filled with protests in 2020 after the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Griner used her fame to help bring attention to systemic issues that are often faced by marginalized communities.

This week's trial proceedings in Russia over WNBA star Brittney Griner's detention have shed more light on the details of her arrest, including her ...

Griner also told the court she enjoyed playing basketball in Russia during the WNBA's offseason and that her club, UMMC Ekaterinburg, became a second home to her, Blagovolina said. In any case, we would be really happy if Brittney will be able to come home and hope it will be soon," they said. David Whelan, Paul's brother, said in a statement, "Our family appreciates the Biden Administration seeking Paul's release using the resources it has available. She emphasized that she never planned to bring it to Russia and use it," attorney Maria Blagovolina told reporters after the hearing. I never wanted to hurt my team," Griner said. No attorney was present, Griner testified, and she said her rights were not explained to her, which, according to Russian law, should have occurred within three hours.

Arms trafficker Viktor Bout reportedly in line for exchange with the WNBA star facing drug charges.

If successful, Whelan and Griner’s prisoner swap would mark the second high-profile exchange between the two adversaries this year. “We talked yesterday on the phone. Whelan has repeatedly denied the charges against him. Griner faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. “Now I think a trade is realistic because as far as I understand the Russian side has always been for a trade and in this case, it now appears to be the position of the American side.” Brittney Griner’s defence team have given the prospect of including the WNBA star in a prisoner swap a cautious welcome, as Russia said talks between Moscow and Washington on exchanging prisoners were “ongoing”.

Russian officials said Thursday that negotiations had been taking place for a possible prisoner swap between the United States and Russia, but that a deal ...

Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal." Russian officials said Thursday that negotiations had been taking place for an unspecified possible prisoner swap between the United States and Russia, but that a deal had not yet been reached. A concrete result has not yet been achieved."

The U.S. has reportedly offered to exchange a convicted Russian arms trafficker to bring home the two "wrongfully detained" Americans.

- "Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal," Blinken said Wednesday, though he did not offer specifics as to the terms. Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Wednesday that he plans to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "in the coming days" to raise several issues, including the detentions of WNBA star Brittney Griner and other Americans in Russia as well as the recent deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports. Blinken added that he plans to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "in the coming days."

She was charged with drug smuggling for possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil and is standing trial in the town of Khimki just outside Moscow. Speaking ...

“I played with injuries.” “I was just recovering from Covid,” she said. “My career is my whole life. I could barely walk from my bed.” She said she had arrived in Russia despite US authorities recommending against travel to the country and said that she would “never” risk the championship. “I had it in February right before the break.

Her detainment occurred shortly before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, with geopolitical tensions making it undoubtedly more difficult to secure her release ...

He is currently being held in a US penitentiary. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. “The president called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other US nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in a statement. “He also read her a draft of the letter the president is sending to Brittney Griner today.” ”We believe that this is a serious proposal, and we want the Russians to take it seriously as well.” “I’d like to plead guilty, your honour. Russian monitors also checked in on Ms Griner and reported that she was fine with the exception that the bed in the facility where she is being held was not built for someone of her height. But there was no intent. On 23 March, a diplomatic official was granted access to visit Ms Griner in Russia, and said that she was in ”good condition”. A prisoner swap was reportedly first considered on 15 May, with Ms Griner potentially being returned to the US in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Mr Bout was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill American citizens and officials, of delivering anti-aircraft missiles, and of providing aid to a terrorist organisation. Pentagon official Evelyn Farkas has said she fears Ms Griner will be used by Russia as a “ high-profile hostage” with which to secure prisoner exchanges with the US. The trial resumed on 7 July, with Ms Griner clutching a photo of her wife Cherelle as she told a judge she would plead guilty, according to reporters in the courtroom.

Russia said on Thursday that no deal has been reached on any prisoner exchange with the US a day after reports emerged that Washington had proposed sending ...

After months of internal debate, the Biden administration has offered to exchange Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US ...

We start all of these with somebody who has taken a human being American and treated them as a bargaining chip," the official said. Biden officials had been concerned the decision to swap Reed for Yaroshenko would be criticized by Republicans. Instead, it won bipartisan praise, including from a handful of Republicans who are normally sharp critics of the administration. The US government has long resisted prisoner swaps, claiming concerns that they only incentivize countries to detain Americans so they can be used as bargaining chips. They said it was in Russia's "court to be responsive to it, yet at the same time that does not leave us passive, as we continue to communicate the offer at very senior levels." These sources told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year. We start all negotiations to bring home Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained with a bad actor on the other side.

The Kremlin warned that a possible prisoner swap with the United States involving Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly.

Griner also said that besides the poor translation, she received no explanation of her rights or access to a lawyer during the initial hours of her detention. Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges in 2020. Griner’s five months of detention have raised strong criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of transporting drugs. Blinken’s comments marked the first time the U.S. government publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure Griner’s release. “We know that such issues are discussed without any such release of information,” Peskov told reporters during a conference call.

The US made a substantial offer to Russia for WNBA star Brittney Griner. The deal is potentially dangerous, some experts say. But it may be necessary.

“At the same time, we know from past experience the only way to bring people home is through these deals," he said. "Is it fair?" “Yeah, you get her or a couple of people out now,” Saale told USA TODAY recently. And he did just that,” Zachariasiewicz wrote in a recent op-ed for USA TODAY. She also noted Russia is unlikely to accept any deal before Griner's trial ends, which her lawyers predict will occur sometime in August. Griner plead guilty "without intent" earlier this month; the two-time Olympic gold medalist testified Wednesday she accidentally packed vape cartridges filled with cannabis. "No, because fair implies a moral equivalence between these individuals that absolutely does not exist." "We know that such issues are discussed without any such release of information," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a conference call. Any agreement would involve a prisoner swap with Russia or concessions on recent economic sanctions, and CNN reported shortly before Blinken's announcement that the U.S. had offered notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. It was the first public acknowledgement that the highest levels of diplomatic relations were working to bring the WNBA star home. Others believe previous examples of such exchanges demonstrate it's the only way to safely return wrongly detained prisoners. “Be wary.” Publicizing deals to free Americans sets bad precedent and endangers Americans, some say.

From the beginning, Brittney Griner's status has been the most unique American hostage situation in modern history. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, ...

Any deal for Griner was contingent on her agreeing to a plea deal acknowledging her guilt in a public trial. There were concerns that Biden and Blinken making a swap involving someone as detestable as Bout would encourage other foreign adversaries to arbitrarily detain Americans abroad. They’ve commenced their ”law and order” pearl-clutching about freeing a Black woman who broke foreign laws and trading an arms smuggler for two Americans convicted of minor crimes. The last time a negotiation of this nature played out publicly was when Vice President Bennett arranged the release of General Radek in exchange for President Harrison Ford. Yes, I just described a fictional scene from Air Force One. That’s how much of a departure from the norm Blinken’s press conference was. On Thursday, the Kremlin responded to Blinken’s address by warning the U.S. to dial down its public disclosures through the media. After months of silence from Brittney Griner’s fiance, family, the WNBA, and most importantly the federal government, Wednesday marked a stark shift, with the Secretary of State acknowledging for the first time that an offer for Griner and Whelan had been extended. For weeks after Griner was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport, her predicament was kept under wraps in an effort to prevent her from being made an example of. Comparatively, there was a two-year span between Reed’s arrest and his exchange in April while Whelan has been held since 2018. The U.S. and Russia have been dancing on a knife’s edge for decades. It feels like a minor miracle that the conversations surrounding Griner’s release have even gotten this far. However, the tension between Russia and the West is thicker than ever since the invasion of Ukraine. The resulting sanctions on Russia have made diplomacy even more difficult. From the beginning, Brittney Griner’s status has been the most unique American hostage situation in modern history.

The U.S. has made the terms of Brittney Griner's prisoner exchange public, and Russia doesn't like that one bit.

Trading a basketball player and a shoddy low-level spy for an international arms dealer with a ridiculous number of connections who was maybe/probably working for Putin the whole time seems like a pretty good deal. The question of why the U.S. has made this offer is open to debate, and the answer may be that they thought it might put public pressure on the Russians. Blinken even said he plans to speak with the Russian foreign minister soon. At one point, that included the Colombian group FARC, and since those weapons were intended to fight U.S. forces, the Americans got serious. *She had the bad fortune to be arrested a literal week before Russia invaded Ukraine, at a time of truly woeful relations between the U.S. and Russia that included severe economic sanctions. Bout is a former Soviet army colonel and probably a KGB operative who speaks six languages and seems to have spent the two decades after the USSR's dissolution shipping weapons to anyone with the money to buy. No, just kidding: The offer was a 1-for-2 deal, in which the U.S. would release an international arms dealer named Viktor Bout (nickname: "The Merchant of Death") in exchange for Griner and an alleged American spy detained in 2019 named Paul Whelan. As you might imagine, both Bout and Whelan are pretty insane figures in their own ways.

Russia on Thursday said there was no deal yet with the United States on swapping detained U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner and a former marine for a ...

"Viktor Bout’s arms trafficking activity and support of armed conflicts have been a source of concern around the globe for decades. He was sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Today, he faces the prospect of life in prison for his efforts to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to terrorists for use in killing Americans." For the two former Cold War foes, now grappling with the worst relations in a generation due to the war in Ukraine, the exchange would mark one of the more extraordinary prisoner swaps in their history.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Washington had offered Russia a deal that would bring the WNBA star home.

Griner also said that besides the poor translation, she received no explanation of her rights or access to a lawyer during the initial hours of her detention. Griner's five months of detention have raised strong criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States, which has formally declared her to be "wrongfully detained" -- a designation sharply rejected by Russian officials. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of transporting drugs. "We know that such issues are discussed without any such release of information," Peskov told reporters during a conference call. Blinken's comments marked the first time the U.S. government publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure Griner's release. The 31-year-old has pleaded guilty but said she had no criminal intent in bringing the cartridges to Russia and packed in haste for her return to play in a Russian basketball league during the WNBA's offseason.

The Kremlin warned Thursday that a possible prisoner swap with the United States involving American basketball star Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated ...

Griner also said that besides the poor translation, she received no explanation of her rights or access to a lawyer during the initial hours of her detention. The U.S. government has denounced the charges as false. Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges in 2020. Griner's five months of detention have raised strong criticism among teammates and supporters in the United States. Blinken's comments marked the first time the U.S. government publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure Griner's release. "We know that such issues are discussed without any such release of information," Peskov told reporters during a conference call.

Bout is a Russian who was the world's most notorious arms dealer in the 1990s and early 2000s. He's serving a 25-year prison sentence in Illinois, ...

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