Moscow is leaning toward rejecting a prisoner swap unless it gets two Russians in return for the two Americans the U.S. wants released, according to people familiar with the Kremlin’s thinking.
The U.S. has called on Russia to free WNBA player Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, offering to free convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. Discussions have been stop-start since June, with Moscow reluctant to agree to a deal it sees as unequal, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential matters.
Russia has not yet supplied a detailed response to the American proposal, another person familiar with the discussions said.
