Russia confirmed this Thursday that it is holding talks with the United States for an exchange of detainees, but he assured that there was still no agreement, after Washington announced that it had presented a “consequent” offer to Moscow.
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The negotiations “are carried out by the competent authorities. A concrete result has not yet been reached,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zajárova said in a statement.
“Since there is no finalized agreement, we have nothing to add” on the issue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said during his daily news conference. According to Zakharova, Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin “at the time” ordered prisoner swap talks, a topic that has come up regularly since their June 2021 summit in Geneva.
The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, announced on Wednesday that he will speak “in the coming days” with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss an American offer.
According to several US media, it would be about exchanging Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner, a basketball player who is currently facing trial after being arrested in February for possession of cannabis upon arrival in Moscow, and Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence. years in prison in Russia for espionage.
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Viktor Bout, a known Russian arms dealer, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.
Nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” his extraordinary career inspired the movie “The Warlord,” starring Nicolas Cage as a cynical arms dealer.
“We spoke (on Tuesday) by phone and Viktor (Bout) did not know anything about the negotiations between Russia and the United States,” said the convict’s wife, Alla Bout, quoted by the Ria Novosti agency.
Griner’s side is also unaware of a potential trade. “The lawyers do not participate in the negotiations. From a legal point of view, the exchange can only take place after the verdict.
In any case, we will be happy if Brittney (Griner) can go home soon,” said lawyer Maria Blagovolina on Telegram. The 31-year-old WNBA player who faces a 10-year prison sentence will appear again before the judge on August 2.
On Wednesday, Griner said he had no intention of bringing drugs, specifically cannabis, into Russia. Several prisoner exchanges occurred earlier. In April, former US Marine Trevor Reed, sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for violence he denies, was exchanged for a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, jailed in the US since 2010 for drug trafficking linked to the Colombian FARC.
AFP
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