Moscow says it is ready to discuss a prisoner swap for basketball star Brittney Griner
The US president on Friday assured the families of two Americans detained in Russia, basketball star Brittney Griner and former military man Paul Whelan, that “continues to explore all possible avenues” to repatriate them, the White House said in a press release.
Joe Biden separately met Elizabeth Whelan, sister of Paul Whelan, and Cherelle Griner, wife of Brittney Griner.
“The president is grateful that he had the opportunity to learn more about Brittney and Paul,” his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in the statement, which gives no indication of the ongoing negotiations with Russia.
Earlier in the day, John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, had assured that “the discussions have continued”.
“The president will not let go. He is confident that this issue will remain at the forefront of his mind and that of his team,” added Kirby.
Cherelle Griner for her part thanked Mr. Biden for “the efforts of his administration to secure his release”. “I felt every minute of those grueling seven months without her,” he said in a statement.
Russia had recently said it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap for the sportswoman.
John Kirby assured that Washington had made a “serious” offer to Moscow, but that the Russians “weren’t responding”. “These two people should be home by now. Period,” he added.
The basketball player was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court for cannabis trafficking.
His case took on a geopolitical dimension in the context of the crisis between Moscow and Washington linked to the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
This diplomatic confrontation has once again turned the spotlight on Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia for “espionage”.
