Topline
President Joe Biden will meet with the families of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who both remain jailed in Russia, at the White House on Friday, officials told the Associated Press and CNN, after months of unsuccessful talks with Russia that have reportedly included a proposed prisoner swap.
President Biden will reportedly host the families of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, who are both … [+]
Key Facts
The two separate meetings will be Biden’s first in-person conversations with family members of Whelan and Griner, according to the AP and CNN.
Griner was arrested in Russia on drug possession charges in February and sentenced last month to 9 years in prison, while Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 on spying charges—which he has denied.
Biden Administration officials told the AP on Thursday that serious negotiations have since been restarted, despite the Kremlin reportedly denouncing previous White House proposals as “megaphone diplomacy.”
Forbes first reported in May that the U.S. had offered to exchange Griner for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence that started in 2011.
The meetings come more than two months after Biden spoke on the phone with Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, and said he is committed to providing assistance to her family—Cherelle had criticized Biden in an interview on CBS Morning, saying he hadn’t responded soon enough after she wrote him a letter asking him to bring her wife home.
Last month, Biden said in a statement his administration will “pursue every possible avenue” to bring home Griner and Whelan “as soon as possible,” although his administration eschewed outside help from former United Nations ambassador and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson on Wednesday, saying private citizens should not be in Moscow or negotiating for the U.S. government.
Key Background
Griner was taken into custody on February 17, after being accused of carrying vaporizer cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner, who plays basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason, wrote a letter to Biden in July, writing, “I’m terrified I might be here forever,” and asked him to “please do all you can to bring us home.” In July, she testified that she was not read her rights when Russian officials detained her in February. She was sentenced on August 4 by a Russian court for drug possession and smuggling, and ordered to pay a fine of one million rubles ($16,771)—a ruling that Biden called “unacceptable.” Griner’s attorneys appealed the conviction two weeks later, a process that could take up to three months, lawyers told the New York Times. Attempts to bring them back in a prisoner swap have been unsuccessful so far, following reports Russia wanted the U.S. to return Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel in Russia’s spy agency who is in custody in Germany on a 2019 murder conviction, in addition to Bout—which White House official John Kirby slammed it as a “bad faith attempt.”
Tangent
The meetings come one week after Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a $2 billion military aid package to Ukraine, bringing U.S. military spending for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February to $15.2 billion, according to the State Department.
Further Reading
Brittney Griner Involved In Possible Prisoner Swap With Russia (Forbes)
Brittney Griner Appeals Drug Possession Conviction In Russia (Forbes)
Griner, Whelan families to meet Biden amid US-Russia talks (Associated Press)
Brittney Griner Testifies About Russian Authorities’ Treatment During Initial Detention (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/09/15/biden-will-meet-families-of-brittney-griner-and-paul-whelan/