U.S. still talking to Russia about Griner and Whelan release - officials

FILE PHOTO: U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, stands inside a defendants' cage during the reading of the court's verdict in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/File Photo

The United States is still talking to Russia about a deal to free jailed Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan but Moscow has not provided a "serious response" to any of its proposals, a senior U.S. diplomat said in comments published on Monday.

Elizabeth Rood, the U.S. chargée d'affaires in Moscow, told Russia's state-owned RIA news agency that talks were continuing through the "designated channel".