The court case continues. The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, indicated on Friday August 5 that Moscow was ready to discuss with Washington a prisoner exchange involving basketball player Brittney Griner, sentenced Thursday to 9 years in prison for drug possession and trafficking.
“We are ready to discuss this subject, but only within the framework of the channel [de communication] which was agreed by the presidents [Vladimir] Putin and [Joe] Biden”said Sergei Lavrov, during a press conference from Cambodia. “There is a special channel, which is agreed by the presidents, and despite some public statements, this channel retains all its relevance”he continued.
A court in Khimki, near Moscow, found the USA national star guilty of drug possession and trafficking on Thursday (August 4th) and sentenced her “to nine years of detention in a penal colony“, according to the sanction pronounced by the judge and reported by an AFP correspondent.
In support, players from Phoenix, Brittney Griner’s team, and Connecticut observed 42 seconds of silence, like the player’s jersey number, before their WNBA championship game Thursday night
Bring BG home. pic.twitter.com/8PJyst7Bll
—Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) August 4, 2022
In the midst of the conflict in Ukraine, Griner’s trial took on a geopolitical dimension. Last week, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov had their first discussions since the start of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. Antony Blinken said he pressed his counterpart to accept the“substantial offer” from Washington to Moscow to secure the release of Griner and another American detained in Russia, Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for espionage.