Following several months of negotiations and back-and-forth, the United States and Russia may have finally come to terms on a prisoner swap that will allow Brittney Griner to return to the United States in time for the holiday season.
On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov responded affirmatively to the question of whether or not a swap may take place before the end of the year by telling reporters, “There is always a chance.”
“Regrettably, there have been a few occasions when it seemed that a decision in favor of it was about to be made, but it never happened,” said Ryabkov. “However, it was never actually the case.”
Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan have been held captive in Russia for several months, and President Biden has been working tirelessly to free them.
Ryabkov made the observation that a prisoner swap “would without a doubt send a positive signal that not everything is so bleak in Russian-American ties,” despite the fact that the Russian Foreign Ministry is not currently in discussion with the US about the subject.
He continued by saying, “Such a signal would be suitable, provided that we could work it out.”
After the appeal of her lengthy sentence was denied by a Russian court earlier this month, Griner started serving the nine-year sentence she received for drug possession at a forced labor camp in Mordovia.
US officials have criticized the lengthy sentence as being unjust and politically motivated. Griner’s case was brought to the attention of the international community by her participation in the 2012 Olympic Games.
The professional basketball player, who is 32 years old, was detained in February at a Moscow airport after it was discovered that her luggage contained vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.
Griner said during her trial that she accidentally packed the cartridges for her trip to Russia, where she was contracted to play basketball during the WNBA’s off-season.
Griner was under contract to play basketball in Russia during the WNBA’s off-season. She was found guilty of cannabis possession and smuggling in August, and she was given a sentence of nine years in prison for her crimes.
At the beginning of this month, Vice President Joe Biden expressed his optimism that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be willing to consider the possibility of Griner’s release after the midterm elections.
