Russia is ready to talk to the United States about a prisoner swap. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday, a day after American basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in Russia for drug trafficking and possession.
Griner may be exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout together with former US Marine Paul Whelan, who was convicted in Russia for espionage. It’s stuck in the US. “We are ready to discuss this topic,” Lavrov said of a possible trade-off.
Griner was arrested at Moscow airport in February for having cannabis oil in e-cigarette refills. The basketball star herself said on Thursday that she was wrong, but also emphasized that she had not made her mistake intentionally. The American had flown to Moscow because she would play for the Russian team UMMC Yekaterinburg between the American basketball seasons.
US President Biden called Griner’s jail sentence “unacceptable” and called on Russia to release her immediately. Biden also said he would do everything he could to get both Griner and Whelan home “safely as soon as possible.”