US Urges Russia To Accept Prisoner Swap, White House: This Is A Serious Proposal

John Kirby. (Wikimedia Commons/Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

JAKARTA - The United States has urged Moscow to accept a deal aimed at securing the release of two Americans detained in Russia after one of them, basketball star Brittney Griner, was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison on drug charges.

"This is a serious proposal. We urge them to accept it. They should have accepted it a few weeks ago when we first made it," said White House national security spokesman John Kirby, without providing details.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also stressed, saying she was ready to take the necessary steps to repatriate them.

"We urge Russia to accept the proposal. We are willing to take every step necessary to bring our people home," Jean-Pierre explained, citing TASS.

Earlier, Washington had offered to swap Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence in the United States, for Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan, sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Russia has tried to add convicted killer Vadim Krasikov, who is in prison in Germany, to the proposed swap, a source familiar with the process also told Reuters.

When asked on Thursday if Washington was willing to reconsider Russia's request after Griner's sentence, Kirby declined.

"I don't think we're going any further by calling it a counter-offer," Kirby said.

Whelan, who holds American, British, Canadian, and Irish passports, in 2020 was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia after being found guilty of spying. Griner was found guilty and sentenced on Thursday after she was convicted of bringing vape cartridges containing marijuana into Russia.

President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure from families of Americans detained abroad to help bring them home. Jean-Pierre said President Biden received regular updates on negotiations for the release of Griner, Whelan, and others deemed wrongfully detained, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.

"They were wrongfully detained, they had to be released. They had to go home," Kirby said.