Viktor Bout, a former Soviet military officer, is currently serving a 25-year sentence in the United States on charges of conspiracy to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization. However, Bout has maintained that he is innocent.
Sources in the Biden administration told CNN that the plan to trade Bout for Whelan and Griner gained the support of President Joe Biden after it had been under discussion since earlier this year.
“We have communicated a substantial offer that we believe could be successful based on a history of talks with the Russians,” a senior government official told CNN.
“We communicated that a few weeks ago, in June.”
Known as the “Merchant of Death,” Bout is serving 25 years in a U.S. prison after being convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to murder Americans, aid a terrorist organization and other charges.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday that “weeks ago” the US submitted a “substantial proposal” to Moscow for Whelan and Griner, who are classified as wrongly detained.
During a press conference at the State Department, Blinken said Biden was “directly involved” and signed the proposal.
Blinken did not directly confirm that Bout was part of the deal, saying he “cannot and will not go into the details of what we have proposed to the Russians over the course of so many weeks.”
But he said: “Of course, in terms of the president, not only was he directly involved, he signs every proposal we make, and certainly when it comes to Americans arbitrarily detained abroad, including in this particular case. ”
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“So in some ways it’s not surprising, even if it’s discouraging, when those same actors don’t necessarily respond directly to our offers, don’t participate constructively in negotiations.”
Blinken said on Wednesday he will soon meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the first since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The families of Whelan, who has been detained by Russia since 2018 for alleged espionage, and WNBA star Griner, who has been detained in Moscow for drug possession since February, have urged the White House to secure their release, including through a prisoner swap if necessary. .
Griner, who pleaded guilty in early July but later said she inadvertently brought cannabis into Russia, testified in a Russian courtroom on Wednesday as part of her ongoing drug charges trial, which could face up to 10 years in prison.
It is clear that her process needs to be finalized before any deal is finalized, according to US officials familiar with the Russian legal process and the inner workings of the US-Russia negotiations.