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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Edward Helmore and agencies

Russia wants to use Brittney Griner as ‘negotiating chip’, says Democrat

Brittney Griner at the Olympics in Saitama, Japan, in August 2021.
Brittney Griner at the Olympics in Saitama, Japan, in August 2021. Photograph: Charlie Neibergall/AP

A senior Democratic senator has said he believes Russia wants to use the WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been held in Moscow for more than a month on accusations she smuggled drugs into the country, as a “negotiating chip” regarding the war in Ukraine.

“I think there’s no doubt that her detention, and then this continuation of the imprisonment, is all to try to make her a hostage and a part of this chess game,” Tim Kaine, of Virginia, told Full Court Press in an interview scheduled to air in full on Sunday.

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