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 Secretary of State spoke to the Russian Foreign Minister by phone on Friday in the highest level contact between the two sides since Russia invaded Ukraine, and he urged Russia to accept a deal for the release of two American prisoners.
The details of the response to the proposal for Russia to release the two men were not provided by the deputy secretary of state. The proposal for the release of the Americans was the focus of the call.
The Foreign Minister should move forward with the proposal. I don't know if that is any more or less likely.
After issuing a chiding statement urging the U.S. to pursue the Americans' freedom through "quiet diplomacy, without releases of speculative information," Russian officials gave no public hint as to whether any headway had been made.
"I don't want to describe any of the Foreign Minister's responses to my messages, so I'm not going to do that."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it "strongly suggested" to Blinken to return to a professional dialogue in the mode of quiet diplomacy.
According to multiple reports, the offer to Russia was made by the secretary of state after he requested the call.
The Foreign Ministry hadn't been involved in previous discussions on the prisoner exchange, but that didn't stop Lavrov from saying he was open to a call with Blinken. It was the first conversation between the two men in over a month.
The center for the Phoenix Mercury was arrested at a Moscow airport in February after inspectors found cannabis oil in her luggage.
She was arrested at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the US. Teammates and supporters in the United States have been critical of the five-month imprisonment of the basketball player.
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.
She pleaded guilty but said she had no criminal intent when she brought the items to Russia in order to play in the Russian basketball league during the summer. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. According to sources, a verdict and sentence are expected on August 5.
The Biden administration has faced political pressure to release Americans who have been wrongly imprisoned in Russia.
A Michigan man was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage. He and his family are adamant that he is not guilty. The US government has denied the charges.
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.
The AP contributed.
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