Griner Release Deal Sent To Russia
therainbowtimesmass.comBoth Americans, Griner and Whelan, await for Russian answers to the US dealBy: Chris Gilmore/TRT Reporter—The Biden Administration has allegedly offered Russia the release of Viktor Bout in exchange for the release of two jailed Americans, WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, according to a report from CNN.
The official announcement came from the Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s press conference but he did not mention Bout nor details of the deal.The deal’s importance signals a few firsts for the U.S.It is the first time the U.S.
has approached Russia since the Russian-Ukraine war started. It is also a historic policy reversal that Blinken also said he was to meet with his Kremlin counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, about it.
And it is the first time that the Biden Administration has explicitly stated its intent to try to get Griner home. Griner was arrested on drug charges in February and pleaded guilty to them earlier this month.WNBA Star Brittney Griner; Screenshot YouTube/WFAAAccording to CNN’s sources, “the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner received the backing of President Joe Biden after being under discussion since earlier this year.” Biden’s stance and support of the prisoners’ trade “override opposition from the Department of Justice, which is generally against prisoner trades.”It is unclear if Russia will cooperate with the U.S.
