Kremlin poker-faced on US swap offer to free Griner, Whelan

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin has warned that a possible prisoner swap with the United States involving American basketball star Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly without fanfare. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Washington had offered Russia a deal that would bring home Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan. Asked Thursday about the U.S. offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied that prisoner swaps are typically negotiated discreetly behind the scenes. He emphasized that “no agreements have been finalized” and refused to provide further details. Griner has been detained in Russia since inspectors at a Moscow airport found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.