Kirill Kudryavtsev AFP | Getty Images WASHINGTON – The United States has made a proposal to the Russian government to release WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago,” Blinken told reporters at the State Department. The country’s top diplomat also said he would discuss the offer with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “in the coming days.” “Our government has been in touch repeatedly and directly about this proposal, and I will use the conversation to personally continue and hopefully lead us to a solution,” Blinken said. Blinken declined to share additional details about the U.S. offer when pressed by reporters. “When it comes to our efforts to secure the repatriation of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, you understand that I cannot and will not go into any of the details of what we have proposed to the Russians over the course of so many weeks. ” he said. The Biden administration described Griner’s arrest, a dramatic turn that came as the Kremlin prepared for war in Ukraine, as an illegal detention. Earlier this month, she pleaded guilty to drug charges in a Moscow court and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. “I fear I may be here forever,” the Olympian wrote in a letter to Biden earlier this month, asking for his immediate help in her case. At the end of the letter, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with WNBA star Cheryl Griner’s wife. Biden reassured his wife that he was working to secure Griner’s release as soon as possible, according to a White House readout of the call. He also said in the call that he is working to free Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia. U.S. WNBA basketball superstar Brittney Griner stands inside a dock before a hearing at Khimki court outside Moscow on July 26, 2022. Alexander Zemlianichenko AFP | Getty Images Last week, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that will expand the government’s available tools to prevent the hostage-taking and illegal detention of American citizens. The executive order, known as “Strengthening Efforts to Bring Hostages and Wrongfully Detained United States Citizens Home,” would authorize the imposition of financial penalties and visa bans on individuals involved in the hostage-taking. “This executive order reflects the administration’s commitment not only to the issues in general, but to families in particular and has been informed by the administration’s regular engagements with them,” said a senior Biden administration official on July 19, who spoke on condition of anonymity. in order to share details about the new executive order. In April, Russia agreed to release former US Marine Trevor Reed in a prisoner swap with the United States. Reid was charged with assaulting a Russian officer and detained by authorities there in 2019. He was later sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison. Reed and his family maintained his innocence, and the US government described him as wrongfully imprisoned. For Reid’s release, Biden agreed to free Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the United States. This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
