Russia admits it’s in talks for Brittney Griner-Viktor Bout prisoner exchange: diplomat

WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to 9 years in jail earlier this month.
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Russia has admitted that it's in talks with the US to alternate a infamous arms vendor for basketball participant Brittney Griner, a Russian diplomat mentioned.

The diplomat’s feedback marked the primary time Russia mentioned it was in talks to alternate Griner for Viktor Bout, 55, who's in jail within the US, in response to a report.

“The discussions on the very delicate matter of an alternate are continuing through the channels chosen by our presidents,” Alexander Datchiev, the top of the North America division on the Russian Overseas Ministry, was quoted as saying by state information company TASS. “Silent diplomacy continues and will bear fruit if Washington, in fact, is cautious to not fall into propaganda.”

Griner, 31, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after vape cartridges containing a small quantity of hashish oil have been present in her baggage. Griner was charged with smuggling medicine and sentenced to 9 years in jail earlier this month.

Alleged arms vendor Viktor Bout has been nicknamed “The Service provider of Loss of life.”

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Brittney Griner is pictured leaving the courtroom after being sentenced to almost a decade in jail on Aug. 4.

AFP through Getty Photos

President Biden mentioned earlier this month he was “hopeful” that Russia would free the hoops star, an eight-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

Bout, who was dubbed “The Service provider of Loss of life” for supplying arms for conflicts in Africa and Latin America, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and extradited to the US. He was charged with offering weapons in a few of the world’s worst conflicts and sentenced to 25 years in jail in 2012.