T.J.Quinn explains the next steps for the United States and the basketball player after it was made public that the Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia in order to bring her back to the United States. There is a time and a place for it.
The Kremlin warned that a prisoner swap between the United States and the US should be quietly negotiated.
The Secretary of State said that the US had offered Russia a deal that would bring home the two Americans. A person with knowledge of the situation said the U.S. government wanted to trade Bout for the two men.
The prisoner swaps were usually negotiated behind the scenes, according to the Kremlin spokesman.
Peskov told reporters during a conference call that the issues are discussed without any information being released. The public knows about it when the agreements are already in place.
No agreements have been finalized and he refused to give further details.
There has been no concrete result yet from the negotiations between Russian and U.S. officials, according to Maria Zakharova.
Zakharova said that interests of both parties should be taken into account.
In the first instance, the U.S. government publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure the release of a prisoner. The two-time Olympic gold medal and player for the Phoenix Mercury was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after inspectors found cannabis oil in her luggage.
The proposed prisoner deal and other matters will be discussed in a phone call with the Russian Foreign Minister, according to the deputy secretary of state. They hadn't spoken to one another since Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
Russia has been interested in the release of Bout for a long time. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for scheming to sell millions of dollars in weapons.
She testified that she had a doctor's recommendation to use cannabis to treat career-related pain, even though she didn't know how the gun ended up in her bag.
The 31-year-old pleaded guilty but said she had no criminal intent in bringing the cartridges to Russia and packed in haste for her return to a Russian basketball league. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
During her testimony on Wednesday, she said that an interpreter only translated a fraction of what was being said while she was in Moscow's airport and that officials told her to sign documents.
She said that she didn't get an explanation of her rights or access to a lawyer during the first hours of her confinement. She said she used a translation app on her phone.
She was arrested at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the US. The United States officially declared her to be "wrongfully detained" after five months of her imprisonment, a designation that was strongly rejected by the Russian government.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
