Middle East?s 2 Powerful Men Helped Release Brittney Griner: REPORTS

Joe Biden and the US have succeeded in bringing the WNBA star Brittney Griner home. The two countries finalized a one-for-one prisoner swap deal for the release of BG on December 8. Moreover, the US authorities released convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange.

As per the US officials, the updated deal was finalized on December 1 between the two nations. However, according to a recent report, two powerful men from the Middle East played a crucial role in finalizing the Griner swap.

President Biden shared the news about Griner’s release in his recent tweet. He informed the nation that Griner is safe and on a plane back home. The prisoner exchange was made in the UAE on Thursday through a swap deal.

Recently, National Security reporter Vivian Salama made a huge revelation on Twitter. Salama shared that two influential entities from the UAE and Saudi Arabia helped the US in negotiating a deal for the release of the WNBA superstar Brittney Griner.

Unexpected saviors for Brittney Griner:

In her recent tweet, Salama shared a joint statement that announced the involvement of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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Further, Vivian Salama wrote,?“A joint UAE-Saudi statement announces that the UAE President MBZ and Saudi Crown Prince MBS mediated efforts that secured the release of Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap with Russia.”

The report suggested that the two powerful Middle East leaders helped mediate the deal between the US and Russia. Hence, the leaders of UAE and Saudi Arabia played a huge role in freeing Griner.

Earlier, Griner was sent to the IK-2 penal colony in Mordovia to serve her nine-year sentence last month. She was reportedly facing some of the harshest colonies in a penal colony.

Whelan remains stuck in Russia:

The State Department originally proposed a two-for-one deal to their Russian counterparts in July. The Biden Administration offered to release Viktor Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner and retired US marine, Paul Whelan. However, Russia disagreed with the deal, offering to release only Griner for Bout.

Further, Paul Whelan recently spoke to CNN on Thursday about the release of Brittney Griner and his present situation. The former US Marine was happy about the WNBA star. However, he was?“greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up.”

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Notably, Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence in a penal colony in Mordovia under espionage charges. Meanwhile, the POTUS reassured Whelan has not been forgotten. He suggested that the White House will continue to fight for his freedom.?