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President Biden is hopeful that negotiations can begin in the Brittney Griner case now that the US mid-term elections are over.
President Joe Biden has renewed hope that Vladimir Putin may be more willing to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, two Americans detained in Russia. Biden stated that he was more hopeful now that the elections are over that Russia would be more willing to discuss prisoner exchange, including Griner.
We recently published an update on Griner being moved from a Moscow jail to the much harsher Russian penal colony. At the time, Griner’s family nor lawyer knew the exact location and were surprised by the sudden move, which many experts said usually takes months to happen in typical cases. After the recent mid-term elections on November 8, President Biden made this statement.
Biden stated:
He was “determined to get her home” as well as others. “My hope is that now that the election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Biden said.
On November 3rd, officials at the US Embassy in Moscow were able to visit Griner, and State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet
.@USEmbRU officials visited Brittney Griner today. They saw firsthand her tenacity and perseverance despite her present circumstances. We continue to press for the immediate release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan and fair treatment for every detained American.
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) November 3, 2022
CIA director Bill Burns was scheduled to meet in Ankara, Turkey, on Monday with his Russian intelligence counterpart. Of course, the ongoing war in Ukraine was to be discussed and the possible release of Griner and Whelan. As previously mentioned, politics are a significant part of Griner’s incarceration, even more than the actual case. People who know the current situation have stated that Russia was very aware of the recent US election and did not want to give Biden and his administration any positive leverage heading into the November 8th mid-term vote.
Hopefully, now that the elections are over, the US can make real progress in bringing Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan home.
