(Moscow) A Russian diplomat confirmed on Saturday that Moscow and Washington were discussing a possible prisoner exchange involving, among other things, a Russian arms trafficker detained in the United States and an American basketball player detained in Russia.
Posted at 8:27
The United States has repeatedly said it has made a “substantial offer” to obtain the release of two Americans detained in Russia, basketball player Brittney Griner and a former American soldier, Paul Whelan.
PHOTO EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brittney Griner
According to American media, it would be a question of exchanging them for a famous Russian arms trafficker detained in the United States, Viktor Bout, nicknamed “the merchant of death”.
Mr. Bout was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States. His extraordinary journey was one of the film’s inspirations Lord of War in which Nicolas Cage plays a cynical arms dealer.
“Discussions on the very sensitive subject of an exchange of [prisonniers] take place through channels chosen by our presidents,” said the director of the North America department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Dartchiev.
The names quoted by the American press “are indeed considered. Russia has been seeking the release of Viktor Bout for a long time,” he added in an interview published Saturday by the Russian news agency Tass.
The “silent diplomacy” continues and should bear fruit if, of course, Washington […] be careful not to fall into propaganda.
Alexander Dartchiev, Director of the North America Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry
This is the first time that Moscow has confirmed that discussions are taking place on a possible exchange involving Mr. Bout. The Kremlin has repeatedly criticized Washington for making public statements about the ongoing negotiations.
These discussions accelerated after basketball player Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in early August for cannabis trafficking.
Brittney Griner, considered one of the best basketball players in the world, was arrested in February in Moscow in possession of a vaporizer containing cannabis-based liquid.
His case took on a geopolitical dimension in the context of the crisis between Moscow and Washington linked to the Russian offensive in Ukraine.