The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, announced on Wednesday that he planned to speak soon with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February.
This telephone interview, which is scheduled “in the coming days”, “will not be a negotiation about Ukraine”, but should be mainly devoted to the Americans detained in Russia and the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports, specified 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,” he said.
“We put an important offer on the negotiating table several weeks ago to facilitate these releases,” he added, declining to specify what the American offer consisted of.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul has called on President Joe Biden’s administration to swap the two American prisoners for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the United States.
Basketball player Brittney Griner was arrested at Moscow airport in February after “vapes” and “a liquid with a peculiar smell” of cannabis oil were found in her hand luggage, according to Russia’s Federal Intelligence Service. customs. 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.
Mr Blinken added that he intended to discuss with the Russian Foreign Minister the agreement between kyiv and Moscow concluded last week in Istanbul, with the mediation of Turkey and under the aegis of the UN, to allow the delivery abroad of some 25 million tonnes of grain stuck in Ukrainian ports. “We hope that this agreement will quickly allow Ukrainian grain to be shipped again through the Black Sea and that Russia will honor its promise to allow these ships to pass,” he said.
The last telephone conversation between the two men dates back to February 15, when Mr. Blinken had 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 internationally.