The Biden administration has offered Russia a deal aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday. In a sharp reversal of past policy, Blinken also said he expected to speak with his Kremlin counterpart for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. The statement marked the first time the US government has publicly disclosed any specific action it has taken to secure the release of Griner, who was arrested on drug charges at a Moscow airport in February and testified Wednesday at her trial. Blinken did not elaborate on the proposed deal, which was offered weeks ago, although it is unclear whether it would be enough for Russia to free the Americans. But the public acknowledgment of the offer at a time when the US has otherwise avoided Russia reflects growing pressure on the administration over Griner and Whelan and its determination to repatriate them. Blinken said Washington would like a response from Moscow. Russia has for years expressed interest in the release of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer once dubbed the “Death Merchant” who was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 on charges of plotting to illegally sell millions of dollars in arms. . Blinken said he had requested a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. U.S. officials said the desire to respond to the prisoner offer was the primary, but not the only, reason the U.S. requested the call with Lavrov on Wednesday. If the call goes ahead, it would be the first conversation Blinken and Lavrov have had since February 15, about a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Blinken also said he would talk to Lavrov about the importance of Russia complying with a United Nations-brokered deal to release several tons of Ukrainian grain from storage and warn him about the dangers of possible Russian attempts to annex parts of eastern and southern Ukraine.
