There is no doubt that Washington, D.C. In order to free WNBA star Brittney Griner and another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the United States has made an offer to Russia. Blinken also stated that he expected to speak with his Kremlin counterpart for the first time since before Russia invaded Ukraine, reversing his former attitude dramatically.
Griner, who was arrested in February at a Moscow airport on drug-related allegations and testified in her trial on Wednesday, was the first person the United States government had publicly revealed any tangible action it had taken to gain her release.
He didn’t go into detail about the potential arrangement, which was put forth weeks ago, and it’s not certain if Russia will be willing to free the American citizens. The fact that the United States has publicly acknowledged Russia’s offer at a time when the United States has otherwise spurned Russia shows how much pressure the government is under to bring Griner and Whelan home.
Blinken stated that the United States was eager for a reaction from Russia. Vladimir Bout, the Russian arms dealer previously known as the “Merchant of Death,” was sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in jail on charges of illegally selling millions of dollars in weapons. Russia has shown an interest in his release for a long time.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been requested to speak with Blinken. Getting a response on the prisoner offer was, according to US sources, not the main reason Washington requested a phone call with Lavrov on Wednesday.
There has not been a conversation between Blinken and Lavrov in almost a week, which is when Russia invaded Ukraine. At the same time, the UN’s Blinken said he will warn Lavrov about Russian intentions to annexe parts of eastern and southern Ukraine if Russia does not comply with a UN-mediated plan to release tons of Ukrainian grain from storage.
He was convicted in 2020 to 16 years in jail on espionage charges by a court in Michigan. A robust defense of his innocence has been made by him and members of his family. U.S. officials have slammed the accusations as untrue. A robust defense of his innocence has been made by him and members of his family. U.S. officials have slammed the accusations as untrue.
After being held in Russian detention for five months, Griner admitted last month that she had cannabis oil vape cartridges in her luggage when she landed in Moscow, but she maintains that the cartridges were packed by accident and were not intended to be used for any criminal purpose.
On the day of her trial, Griner admitted that she had no idea how the cannabis oil wound up in her suitcase, but that it was prescribed to her by a doctor and that she had packed it in a hurry. A language interpreter barely translated a quarter of what officials said to her during her questioning, and she was told to sign documents without explanation after inspectors found the cartridges.
If convicted of narcotics trafficking, Griner faces up to ten years in jail.
It has long been feared that prisoner swaps could encourage further hostage-taking and promote the false equivalency between an unlawfully held American and a foreign individual considered as justly sentenced by the U.S. government. There were hopes for similar deals after a deal in April in which a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, was traded for a Marine veteran, Trevor Reed, who had been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, was seen as opening the door to similar agreements in the future.
Neither Blinken nor Lavrov had contacted with one another about Reed’s release. To avoid a Russian invasion, Blinken contacted Lavrov on Feb. 22 to postpone an earlier scheduled meeting since Moscow had showed little interest in engaging in meaningful diplomacy on the issue. Russia’s diplomacy, according to the U.S. State Department, was “Kabuki theater,” with no substance.
The two last met in person in Geneva in January to discuss Russia’s significant military build-up along Ukraine’s border and Russia’s demands for NATO to diminish its presence in eastern Europe and permanently deny Ukraine membership in the NATO. Russia’s requests were rejected by the United States.
A conference of G-20 foreign ministers in Bali, Indonesia, earlier this month saw Blinken and Lavrov do their best to avoid each other, avoiding eye contact and exchanging words.
In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, next week, the two leaders will both attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, where they will both be in the same city at the same time. While it was unclear whether the phone contact that preceded the Aug. 4-5 meeting would foreshadow an in-person discussion, the meeting itself is scheduled for those dates.