The Kremlin on Thursday said no firm agreement has been reached on a prisoner swap that could secure the release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan from Russian detention.
Moscow was responding to a “substantial” proposal from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that would likely spring a high-level convict — possibly arms trafficker Viktor Bout — from a U.S. prison in exchange for the Americans.
“Look, since there are no agreements now that would be finalized, then, accordingly, I have nothing more to add to what has been said,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters from multiple outlets on his daily conference call.
The offer is viewed as a risk for the Biden administration, which doesn’t want to encourage hostage taking or the unreasonable detention of Americans abroad by acceding to a foreign state’s demands. On the other hand, the administration is under intense pressure to bring the Americans home.
Earlier this year, Marine veteran Trevor Reed was traded for jailed Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko.
Ms. Griner, who played basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason, told a court she had vape cartridges with cannabis in her airport luggage in February but she did not intend to violate the law.
Mr. Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison on espionage charges. He says he is innocent.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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