Richardson has a lot of experience in freeing American citizens who are imprisoned in other countries. Since the 1990s, he has been working on the recovery of imprisoned American citizens, including from countries such as North Korea and Myanmar. Richardson has also negotiated with Russia in recent years about the extradition of Trevor Reed, who was allowed to return to the US earlier this year through a prisoner exchange.
According to American media reports, Richardson would travel to Russia next week, but his spokesman could not confirm this to the AFP news agency.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden has a “crisp focus” on solving Griner’s case. “We are working directly with the Russian government through the appropriate channels to quickly resolve not only its case, but also Paul Whelan’s.”
Griner was arrested earlier this year for drug possession, for which she has now pleaded guilty in a Moscow court. Paul Whelan was sentenced in Russia in 2020 to 16 years in prison for espionage.