27 July 2022 at 20:49 CNN: The US offers to exchange a convicted Russian for two Americans The Biden administration has offered to exchange the convicted Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout, in exchange for releasing the two Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. That’s what the American news channel CNN wrote. WBNA profiler Brittney Griner was arrested at the airport in the Russian capital on February 17, after customs officers found cannabis oil for e-cigarettes in her luggage. Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty to possession of narcotic drugs before the Russian court. In 2020, the American Paul Whelan was sentenced to prison for 16 years for espionage. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Wednesday that he will speak with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, within a few days. It will be the first conversation between the two since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Blinken says that the conversation will be about the release of two Americans imprisoned in Russia.
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