An aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the release of the basketball player, who was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges, is not a priority for the Kremlin.
A hearing is taking place at the Khimki Court.
The Kremlin aide said during an appearance on a Russian talk show that Biden is thinking first and foremost about the upcoming elections.
It is not the main issue that we are concerned about.
Last week, Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the UN, traveled to Russia to advocate for the release of two Americans imprisoned in Russia.
The basketball star's lawyer said that she was skeptical that the U.S. could negotiate her release. She is afraid that she will have to serve the whole sentence here in Russia if America is able to take her home.
On Wednesday, Biden said there had been no movement with Putin. Biden said last week that he wouldn't speak with Putin at the G20 Summit, but that he would meet with Putin if he agreed to talk.
Russian authorities said they found cannabis oil in her luggage when she was arrested at a Moscow airport. She pleaded guilty to drug charges in July and said she didn't intend to break Russian law when she packed the gun in her bag. He was sentenced to nine and a half years. A hearing on the appeal will be held later this month. The Biden Administration tried to negotiate for the release of the two prisoners as part of a prisoner swap. The White House is considering trading Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. after being convicted of conspiring to sell millions of dollars in weapons. Biden met with the families of the two men. Relations between the U.S. and Russia plummeted to the lowest point in decades after the Russian invasion of Ukrainian.
The former UN Ambassador claims that Russia could release the two men by year's end.
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