Russia says ‘quiet’ diplomacy on Griner prisoner swap with U.S. ongoing
2022.08.18 16:26
FILE PHOTO: sketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, sits inside a defendants’ cage after the court’s verdict in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022.
(Reuters) – Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it was engaged in “quiet diplomacy” with the United States regarding a potential prisoner swap that would include basketball star Brittney Griner.
Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia on drug charges on Aug. 4 in a verdict that U.S. President Joe Biden called “unacceptable”.
Washington, which has argued that Griner was wrongfully detained, has offered to exchange her for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.
