The United States will consider a Russian offer to trade American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was sentenced in Russia to nine years for drug trafficking, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said. On Friday, August 5, at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, he commented on the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Washington will seek Greiner’s transfer to the United States, he stressed.

Earlier, as part of ASEAN events in Cambodia, Lavrov said there is a special channel created by the US and Russian presidents to discuss the prisoner exchange, and negotiations on these issues should be held there. He indicated that Moscow is ready to discuss this matter with Washington.

However, the head of the State Department condemned the use of “individuals as political pawns”. According to Blinken, Greiner’s arrest and sentence demonstrate that Moscow is “using arbitrary detention to further its own interests.”

Trial by Brittney Griner

The day before, the Moscow Region Khimki City Court sentenced Brittney Greiner to nine years in a penal colony and a fine of one million rubles, finding her guilty of drug smuggling and possession. The basketball player’s lawyers said they would appeal.

US President Joe Biden harshly criticized the Russian court’s decision. “Today, US citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence, which is another reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is holding Brittney unfairly. This is unacceptable, and I urge Russia to release her immediately so she can keep Brittney. his wife, loved ones, friends and teammates,” he said.

Greiner was detained in February 2022 in Sheremetyevo. The investigation claims that during the search, vape cartridges with hash oil were found in his luggage. The athlete admitted this, but stated that she would not intentionally bring the banned substance to Russia. She claims that she packed things in a state of stress and didn’t remember putting the cartridges in her bag. Greiner also highlighted that he uses drugs exclusively for personal use.

The US government offers the Russian Federation the exchange of Greiner and another American detained in Russia – ex-Marine Paul Whelan convicted of espionage – for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, who is serving time in the United States for arms trafficking. In early August, Washington announced an unacceptable response to this proposal by Moscow, which wanted to include Vadim Krasikov, the assassin of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, who is also serving time in Germany, in the exchange agreement.