Biden offers prisoner swap to Russia – media
The Biden administration has offered to trade Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for basketball star Brittney Griner and convicted spy Paul Whelan, CNN reported on Wednesday. Moscow has not yet responded to the alleged offer.
Griner has been detained in Russia since February on drugs charges, while Whelan, a former US Marine, was convicted in 2020 of espionage and is currently serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison.
CNN’s sources claimed that the Biden administration has been working for several months to secure the two Americans’ release, and that Biden himself has backed the prisoner swap offer.
"We communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of conversations with the Russians," an administration official told CNN, stating that the offer was made to Moscow in June. The official added that it is currently in “Russia’s court to be responsive” to the offer.