Russia was surprised that the U.S. made public information about a reported prisoner swap that would return two Americans to the U.S.
A person is escorted into a courtroom.
There are no agreements yet which are finalized, and information about any prisoner swap should not be made public during a Thursday press briefing.
CNN reported Wednesday that the U.S. offered to exchange Bout for two Americans in exchange for him.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that there is no concrete result from the negotiations.
The State Department considers both of them to be wrongly imprisoned. As diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia deteriorated leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there has been a lot of interest in her case. After pleading guilty to drug charges earlier this month, she testified in a court outside Moscow that authorities failed to read her rights and coerced her into signing documents she didn't understand. In May, Forbes reported that the U.S. offered a prisoner swap with Russia.
The U.S. and Russia exchanged prisoners earlier this year even though their diplomatic relations had been severed.
The Merchant of Death, who inspired the Nicholas Cage character in the 2005 film "Lords of War," has another 14 years to serve on a 25-year sentence.
A report says that the U.S. offered a Russian convicted arms dealer in exchange for two Americans.
There was treatment of Russian authorities during initial detaining.
The U.S. offered a deal to Russia for the release of a basketball player.
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