Russia is “ready” to discuss a prisoner swap with Washington at the presidential level, its foreign minister said yesterday, a day after the drug conviction of US basketball star Brittney Griner.
“We are ready to discuss this subject, but only within the framework of the [communication] channel established by” Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov told a news conference on a visit to Cambodia.
“There is a special channel established by the presidents and despite certain public declarations, it is still functional,” he said.
Photo: AFP
“If the Americans again decide to engage in public diplomacy and make thundering declarations ... that’s their business and their problem,” he said, adding that Washington is not able work “in a professional and calm manner.”
However, the discussions would not be held publicly, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“If we discuss prisoner exchanges via the press then they will never take place,” he said.
The statements came a day after a Russian court sentenced Griner to nine years in a penal colony on a drug smuggling charge.
The 31-year-old Griner, a two-time US Olympic champion, listened with a blank expression as an interpreter translated the verdict by Judge Anna Sotnikova, but her lawyers said later she was “very upset.”
US President Joe Biden denounced the verdict and sentence as “unacceptable.”
“I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates,” Biden said, adding that he would continue to work to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia on an espionage conviction.
Griner, recognized as one of the greatest female players in basketball history, has been detained since Feb. 17 after police said they found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage upon arrival in Moscow.
The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years that Griner had faced under the charges.
Most Russians possessing small quantities of drugs get at most five years in prison, lawyers said.
Defense attorney Maria Blagovolina told reporters Griner was “very upset, very stressed. She can hardly talk. It’s a difficult time for her.”
On Wednesday last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home Griner and Whelan in a sharp reversal of previous policy.
Details of the proposal were not announced, although a person familiar with the matter said the US has offered to trade convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Whelan and Griner.
Russian media have also speculated that Griner could be swapped for Bout, nicknamed “the Merchant of Death,” who is serving a 25-year sentence for conspiracy to kill Americans and providing aid to a terrorist organization.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS