Washington (WBAP/KLIF) – As WNBA star and Baylor alumnus Brittney Griner remains jailed in Russia, former US Ambassador Bill Richardson has made a visit to Moscow as US officials continued to efforts to win the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, another American who has been detained in Russia for about four years.
Griner was convicted in April and sentenced to 9 years in prison on allegations of drug possession and smuggling. She was formally stopped at a Moscow airport in February for having cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage. Whelan as arrested in Russia in December 2018 on spying allegations.
Richardson held meetings with Russian leaders according to a report from CNN. In in interview with The Associated Press last month, Richardson said he was hopeful about the chances of a two-for-two prisoner swap. In cases like this, Richardson said at the time, “it’s proportional — two-for two.”
Meantime in July, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced what he called a “substantial proposal” to Russia to facilitate a swap that involved the US release of convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner and Whelan.
Moscow responded to the offer by requesting the additional release of a prison being held in Germany. That request was a non-starter.
(Copyright 2022 WBAP/KLIF 24/7. This report contains material from the Associated Press and CNN.)