Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by phone and urged Moscow to accept a U.S. offer to release two Americans detained in Russia, including Brittney Griner.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by phone Friday and urged Moscow to accept a U.S. offer to release two Americans detained in Russia, including WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Blinken did not provide details of Lavrov’s response to what he had previously called a «substantial proposal» for Russia to release two U.S. citizens in Griner and Paul Whelan. Blinken described the call as a «frank and direct conversation» centered primarily on the proposal for the release of the Americans.
«I urged Foreign Minister Lavrov to move forward with that proposal,» Blinken said. «I can’t give you an assessment of whether that is any more or less likely.»
The secretary of state had publicly requested the call and revealed the existence of the offer to Russia — which according to multiple reports involves convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
