U.S. offers prisoner swap with Russia to secure basketball star's release

The United States announced a “substantial proposal” with Russia on Wednesday that would secure the release of W.B.A. star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan in exchange for a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the U.S. 

In June, the U.S. government offered to trade Viktor Bout, an arms dealer imprisoned in the United States, for Griner, who was detained for allegedly smuggling drugs, and Whelan, detained over espionage charges. 

According to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Russia has “communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal.” He added that the White House has been negotiating the proposal for weeks and believes he will soon have a call with Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, about the issue. 

"In the coming days, I expect to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov for the first time since the war began. I plan to raise an issue that's a top priority for us, the release of Americans Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, who have been wrongly detained and must be allowed to come home," Blinken said.

"We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release," he added. "Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal. I will use the conversation to follow up personally and, I hope, move us towards a resolution.”

Blinken did not provide any other details of the proposal or described Russia’s response to avoid endangering the negotiations with Moscow. 

While Blinken himself did not confirm whether the U.S. was exchanging Bout for the two imprisoned Americans, several sources have told news outlets that the White House is indeed planning to use the arms dealer to secure their release. 

“The Merchant of Death,” as Bout is commonly known, is a former Soviet military officer serving a 25-year federal prison sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people who allegedly planned to kill Americans, reported The New York Times. The Kremlin has demanded Bout’s release for years.

Russia arrested Griner, 31, in February at the Moscow airport after officials allegedly found hashish oil in her luggage. Griner pleaded guilty to the drug charges against her at a trial in Russia on July 7 and now faces up to ten years in prison. During her trial, her defense team argued that she used cannabis to treat her injuries. 

Whelan, 52, is a former Marine and security company executive that was detained at a hotel in Moscow in 2019 and charged with espionage.