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RUSSIA READY TO DISCUSS PRISONER SWAP WITH U.S. AFTER COURT SENTENCES BRITTNEY GRINER

Russia said on Friday it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap with the United States in private, a day after a Russian court jailed U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner for nine years for a drugs offence.

The case against Ms. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Women’s National Basketball Association star, plunged her into a geopolitical maelstrom after Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden had previously agreed on a diplomatic channel that should be used to discuss possible prisoner exchanges.

“We are ready to discuss this topic, but within the framework of the channel that was agreed upon by presidents Putin and Biden,” Mr. Lavrov said during a visit to Cambodia.

“If the Americans decide to once again resort to public diplomacy … that is their business and I would even say that it is their problem.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was prepared to engage with Moscow through the established diplomatic channels. He said Ms. Griner’s conviction highlighted her wrongful detention by Russia and further compounded the injustice that had been done to her.

The Kremlin has remained tight-lipped on the prospect of a swap, saying that if prisoner exchanges were discussed in the media, they would never happen.

“The Americans have already made that mistake, suddenly deciding to use megaphone diplomacy to resolve these issues,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“This is not how they are resolved.” Mr. Peskov declined to comment on the court’s ruling on Ms. Griner. When asked if she could be pardoned, he said that the clemency procedure was coded in Russian laws.

Ms. Griner’s sentence – which Mr. Biden called “unacceptable” – could pave the way for a prisoner swap that would include the 31-year-old athlete and a prolific Russian arms dealer serving a 25-year prison term in the United States.

The United States has already made what Mr. Blinken called a “substantial offer” to secure the release of Americans detained in Russia, including Ms. Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said after Ms. Griner’s sentencing that the United States had made Russia a serious proposal.

“We urge them to accept it,” he said. “They should have accepted it weeks ago when we first made it.”

Mr. Kirby did not provide further detail on the U.S. proposal.

Washington has offered to exchange Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout for Ms. Griner and Mr. Whelan, sources familiar with the situation have told Reuters.

Russia had tried to add convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov, imprisoned in Germany, to the proposed swap, a source familiar with the proceedings also told Reuters.

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2022-08-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://globe2go.pressreader.com/article/281672553709927

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