The foreign ministers of the United States and Russia are negotiating the release of American prisoners in the coming days.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference held in Washington on Wednesday evening Finnish time that the country had made a “significant offer” for the release of the US prisoners captured by Russia. The goal of the United States is to free the basketball star Brittney Griner and accused of espionage Paul Whelan.
According to a source familiar with the negotiations between the United States and Russia, the United States already offered to exchange a captured Russian arms dealer in June Viktor Boutin, to get Griner and Whelan out of Russia. Tells about it New York Times (you will switch to another service).
Blinken did not agree to confirm the US news channel at the press conference CNN (you will switch to another service) news that the president Joe Biden would have agreed to a prisoner exchange.
Russia has been demanding Bout’s release for several years. Known as the “merchant of death,” Bout, a 55-year-old former Soviet army officer, is serving a 25-year prison sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people who said they intended to kill Americans.
Basketball star Griner, 31, who was arrested at Moscow airport, has been in custody since mid-February. Hashish oil was found in Griner’s luggage.
Meanwhile, Whelan, 52, is a former Marine and security company owner who was arrested in a Moscow hotel in 2019. According to the US State Department’s classification, both Griner and Whelan were arrested on false grounds.
Blinken and Lavrov will talk “in the coming days”
Blinken said earlier on Wednesday evening that he was going to talk to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov with on the phone in the next few days. Blinken did not elaborate on the proposal or Russia’s response, but said he did not want to jeopardize sensitive negotiations.
The foreign ministers have not been in contact with each other since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Blinken commented on the content of the call in advance, saying that he intends to narrowly focus only on the most important issues, such as specifically the release of detainees, and the call is not about negotiating Ukraine.