Jose Alvan, from Moscow
Russia has insisted once again that a successful diplomatic deal with the United States could spare famed American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Moscow in February with a cannabis-based liquid and drug charges, from jail this year. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison for the crime. ,
Asked about a prisoner swap this year, the Kremlin’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, “There is always an opportunity.” The official previously noted that “if this happens, it will undoubtedly be a positive sign that all is not lost in US-Russia relations.”
Brittany Griner was detained in Moscow in February, shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: Rachana Gerson Cardoso/LR/AFP
It has emerged that as well as Griner’s swap, there could also be Paul Whelan, an American sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia for espionage. Russian arms dealer Viktor Butt, who is serving 10 of his 25-year sentence in the US, is also being negotiated on arms stability between the two countries.
Consulted by La Repubblica in Moscow, Sergei Orlov from the Gorchakov Foundation noted that “despite the fact that the details of the meeting between the SIE (Foreign Intelligence Service) and the CIA They were hardly disclosed in Ankara in November, they could be the key to establishing contacts between Russia and the US. The high level of delegations, as well as the importance of the issue of prisoner exchange, at least, demonstrates the interest of both sides in engaging in dialogue on the problems of prisoner exchange.
