Brittney Griner

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.

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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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Peskov emphasized that “no agreements have been finalized” but he did not shoot down the possibility that a deal eventually could be reached. Yahoo Sports spoke ...

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The Kremlin warned Thursday that a possible prisoner swap with the United States involving Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly without fanfare.

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. Griner's trial on drug charges started in a court outside Moscow this month, and she testified Wednesday that she didn't know how the cartridges ended up in her bag but that she had a doctor's recommendation to use cannabis to treat career-related pain.