(Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday opened the door to a prisoner swap with the United States, the day after American basketball player Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court for possession and trafficking of cannabis.
“We are ready to discuss this topic, but within the framework of the discussion channel that (Russian) Presidents Vladimir) Putin and (American) Presidents Joe Biden have agreed on,” Sergei Lavrov said.
“If the Americans again decide to resort to public diplomacy (…) that is their business, and I would even say that it is their problem,” he added.
The Kremlin had previously warned the United States against “megaphone diplomacy” in the case of the American basketball star, believing that diplomatic exchanges through the media could only derail efforts to try to agree on a possible exchange of prisoners.
Even before Thursday’s announcement of Brittney Griner’s sentencing – which US President Joe Biden has deemed “unacceptable” – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States had made an “offer substantial” to Russia to free American citizens detained in Russia, including 31-year-old basketball player and former Marine Paul Whelan.
According to a source familiar with the situation, Washington would be willing to exchange arms trafficker Viktor Bout, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.
Brittney Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and figure in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), was arrested at Moscow-Sheremetyevo airport on February 17 with e-cigarette cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.
The basketball player, who has a medical cannabis prescription in the United States to relieve chronic pain, pleaded guilty to the charges against her, but denied having intended to break Russian law.
(Reuters report, editing by Guy Faulconbridge; French version Myriam Rivet, editing by Kate Entringer)
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