After WNBA star Brittney Griner was transferred to a Russian penal colony in the country’s Mordovia region earlier this week, the U.S. Department of State released a statement criticizing Russia’s unwillingness to “seriously negotiate” a prisoner swap for Griner and fellow American Paul Whelan.
“We are not going to comment on the specifics of any proposals other than to say that we have made a substantial offer that the Russian Federation has consistently failed to negotiate in good faith,” the statement, shared to ESPN’s T.J. Quinn, began. “The U.S. Government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with the Russian government. The Russian government’s failure to seriously negotiate on these issues in the established channel or any other channel for that matter runs counter to its public statements.”
The statement was made in response to Russian media reports that Sergei Ryabkov, the country’s minister for foreign affairs, had expressed optimism in a swap taking place, according to Quinn.
