The heads of American and Russian diplomacy have not exchanged since the start of the war in Ukraine at the end of February.
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The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday July 27 that he planned to speak soon with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. This telephone interview, which is scheduled “in the next few days”, “will not be a negotiation about Ukraine”but should be mainly devoted to Americans detained in Russia, said the US Secretary of State during a press conference.
“I plan to raise a topic that is a priority for us: the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, who were wrongfully arrested and who should be allowed to return home.”, did he declare. Former US Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul has called on President Joe Biden’s administration to exchange the two American prisoners for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the United States.
Moscow has not received a request from Washington for telephone contact between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, quoted by the Russian agency Tass.
Basketball player Brittney Griner was arrested at Moscow airport in February after being found in her hand luggage “vapers” and D’“a liquid with a particular smell” of cannabis oil, according to the Russian Federal Customs Service. She faces up to 10 years in prison. Ex-US soldier Paul Whelan, a former security manager for an auto parts company, detained since 2018, continues to maintain his innocence after being sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia for espionage.
Antony Blinken added that he intended to discuss with the Russian Foreign Minister the agreement between kyiv and Moscow concluded last week in Istanbul, via mediation by Turkey and under the aegis of the UN, to allow the delivery abroad of some 25 million tonnes of grain stuck in Ukrainian ports.
The last telephone conversation between the two men dates back to February 15, when Antony Blinken warned Russia against an invasion of Ukraine. Nine days later, Russian forces entered Ukrainian territory, leading the United States and its allies to impose a series of financial sanctions on it to isolate Moscow on the international scene.