The ministry said in a statement that Russia has not engaged in serious negotiations over Griner’s release. “We are not going to comment on the specifics of any proposals other than to say that we have made a substantial offer which the Russian Federation has consistently failed to negotiate in good faith,” the ministry said in a statement, via ESPN. “The U.S. government has continued to monitor this bid and to suggest alternative possible avenues with the Russian government. The Russian government’s failure to seriously negotiate these issues in the established channel, or any other channel for that matter, is antithetical to the public her statements”. The statement came hours after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said there was new “activity” in the talks. Ryabkov also appeared optimistic that convicted arms dealer Victor Butt — who is serving 25 years in prison in the United States and has long been linked to these discussions — would return to Russia. “We haven’t found common ground yet but, undoubtedly, Victor Butt is among those being discussed and obviously we hope for a positive outcome,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying, via ESPN. “The Americans are showing some activity and we are working on it through the proper channels.” Griner is serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia after police found a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport earlier this year. She was transferred to a remote penal colony in the Mordovia region, located about 300 miles southeast of Moscow, earlier this month, her legal team said Thursday. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said a “substantial offer” had been made to Russia for Griner and Paul Whelan, another American currently held in Russia. The deal is reportedly a 2-for-1 prisoner swap in exchange for Booth, the convicted arms dealer nicknamed “the Dealer of Death.” The story continues Griner, according to ESPN, has yet to make contact with her family since moving to the new penal colony, something US officials said they did not know was happening until she had already left Moscow. “While we are pleased that her legal team was able to visit, the fact is that the Russian Federation has yet to provide any formal notice of such a move,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement, via ESPN. “We continue to call on Russia to honor its legal obligations to provide the United States with timely consular access to Ms. Griner so that we can provide critical consular assistance throughout her detention. That’s hard to do when we haven’t been notified of where they are.” Russia’s deputy foreign minister says progress is being made on a prisoner exchange for Brittney Griner. The US said Russia “continually fails to negotiate in good faith”. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters)
