The Kremlin opened up publicly about a prisoner swap deal for Brittney Griner a day after she finally reached the IK-2 penal facility in Yavas, Mordovia. BG has already begun her nine-year sentence and hopes that the US government will find a way to bring her home. The recent statement from Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov gave positive hopes about a prisoner swap deal. He also established the country’s interest in the release of Viktor Bout. Now, U.S. officials have given a strong response to the Kremlin’s statement, which could be huge for Griner’s supporters.

The Russian diplomat’s statement had acted as a ray of hope for BG’s family and supporters. However, US officials have shown no sense of optimism regarding a possible swap deal. The State Department recently accused the Russian authorities of not being serious about negotiating a deal for the release of Brittney Griner.

Russia made contradictory statements about Brittney Griner deal, claims US authorities

The State Department condemned their Russian counterparts in a recent statement. The US spokesperson, Vedant Patel, shared that the government has been following up on the prisoner swap offer. They have also proposed other potential alternatives. 

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Moreover, Patel told that the Kremlin has failed to negotiate seriously through various channels, contradicting their recent public statement. Vedant Patel stated, “We have made a substantial offer that the Russian Federation has consistently failed to negotiate in good faith.”

“[The Kremlin’s] failure to seriously negotiate on these issues in the established channel or any other channel for that matter, runs counter to it’s piblic statements,” he added.

Thus, the State Department did not seem to believe Russia’s positive statement about the prisoner exchange deal involving Griner and retired US marine, Paul Whelan. They claimed that Russia’s statement was contradictory to what was actually going on in the negotiations. 

What did Russia say about a prisoner exchange deal?

Earlier, Mr. Ryabkov suggested that the possibility of a prisoner exchange was getting ‘strengthened’. He revealed that the negotiations continue through various channels but a deal was yet to be finalized. Further, the Russian minister also said that Viktor Bout was among the entities considered for the exchange deal. However, US officials have taken a different stance on how the negotiations talks have panned out so far.

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Meanwhile, Griner has reached the all-female IK-2 facility in Mordovia. Whelan is also housed in the same region at the IK-17 facility. Thus, while the two countries negotiate, Brittney Griner would have to prepare herself for some challenging times in the penal colony.