By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Russia and US are at final stage in talks on a prisoner exchange using an existing diplomatic channel agreed to by Joe Biden and President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Geneva in June 2021.
This is despite the frosty relationship existing between both countries following the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces since February, a war the US has condemned as unnecessary even though Washington has failed to call the invasion a war crime.
“We are ready to discuss this topic, but within the framework of the channel that was agreed upon by Presidents Putin and Biden,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference on the sidelines of an ASEAN meeting in Cambodia last month.
In response, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on August 5 that Washington will “pursue” Russia’s offer to discuss a possible prisoner swap.
This came after US basketball star Brittney Griner was found guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced to nine years in prison by Moscow, a punishment that U.S President Joe Biden called “unacceptable.”
On Monday, Russia’s foreign ministry again reiterated its readiness for talks on a prisoner exchange to free US citizens jailed in Russia, but took a swipe on the American embassy in Moscow for “not fulfilling its official duties” to maintain dialogue.
“We have stated many times that we are ready for negotiations to resolve the fate of U.S. citizens convicted in Russia and Russian citizens in the U.S” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The prisoner exchange could also include U.S. Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan and Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer jailed in the United States.
Whelan, a corporate security executive, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges in 2020, charges for which he has claimed innocent.
US President Biden met the families of Whelan and Griner at the White House on Friday, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying that the administration is committed to “working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely”.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said that what it called “megaphone diplomacy” from Washington would not help efforts to organise a prisoner exchange, urging closed talks instead.
The two countries have shown that despite their poor relations, agreements are still attainable.
In April, they staged a prisoner swap that saw former US Marine Trevor Reed traded for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year sentence in the United States.
