Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he plans to talk to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov about the release of Americans Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.
Blinken said the US has made a "substantial proposal" in hopes of bringing home the two Americans detained in Russia.
Griner, a WNBA all-star, was in court on Wednesday as her drug trial continued. She has remained detained in Russian custody since February.
Whelan has been held by Russia since 2018 and was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years for spying.
Blinken said his upcoming conversation with Lavrov will mark the first time since the start of the war that he has talked to the Russian foreign minister.
The US considers Whelan and Griner “wrongfully detained” and that they “must be allowed to come home.”
“We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release,” Blinken said. “Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal and I will use that conversation to follow up personally and I hope move us toward a resolution.”
In response to Secretary of State Antony Blinken's announcement, the family of Paul Whelan has issued the following statement, "Like you, we are learning more today about the US governments attempts to secure Paul, and Brittney Griner's, release from wrongful detention by the Russian government. Our family appreciates the Biden Administration seeking Paul's release using the resources it has available. We hope the Russian government responds to the U.S. government and accepts this or some other concession that enables Paul to come home to his family. Hopefully no other American will be wrongfully held by the Russian government in the future," said the family of Paul Whelan.
"The sooner the better. Paul has let our parents know that about 10 prisoners have left IK-17 to go and serve on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Hopefully the Russian military sticks to volunteers and not press gangs. Paul also mentioned that all time-pieces have been confiscated. Wall clocks have been removed, prisoners' watches have been removed and placed in storage. He's still required to check in, as a "flight risk", every hour and is no longer certain how to do that. I've emailed a member of the Public Monitoring Commission about why a prison would remove time-pieces but have not heard back."
