Griner and Whelan families meet with Biden during US-Russia talks

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to meet at the White House on Friday with family members of WNBA star Britney Greener and Michigan corporate security chief Paul Whelan, both of whom are imprisoned in Russia. Print.

The separate meeting will be the first face-to-face meeting between the Bidens and their families, and comes amid the administration’s ongoing but so far unsuccessful efforts to secure the release of the Americans. In July, the administration said it had made a “substantial offer” to bring them home, but despite plans for meetings at the White House, there were no signs that a breakthrough was imminent.

Griner has been detained in Russia since February on drug possession charges. Last month, he was sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty and appealing the sentence. Whelan is sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage charges that he and his family believe are false. The US government considers both wrongful imprisonment and referrals cases to the office of the foreclosure chief negotiator.

Long sought by both families, Friday’s meetings were intended to highlight the administration’s commitment to take Griner, Whelan and other Americans to prison abroad and “connect with them as they pass the test the Russian government puts on them.” He is one of the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity as the talks were not made public.

Negotiations were complicated by strained relations between Washington and Moscow over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken took the unusual step of announcing two months ago that the administration had made a big offer to Russia. Since then, the administration has followed through on his proposal in various ways and has begun serious negotiations, an administration official said on Thursday.

The official, who stated that they were open to negotiations, but warned the Americans to conduct the negotiations privately, came back with offers that the administration could not make, the official refused to give details. But the official said the United States followed the same channels as the prisoner exchange that brought in Russia veteran Marine Trevor Reid in April.

The administration did not elaborate on its proposal, but someone familiar with the matter confirmed that it had offered to release Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently convicted in US custody. It is also possible that Russia insisted on the release of two of its citizens from prison, largely in line with its interests.

In July, Biden spoke on the phone with Griner’s wife, Cherell, and Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth, but both families requested a face-to-face meeting. On Friday, Biden plans to speak at one meeting with Sherrell Griner and the player’s manager at the White House, and another with Elizabeth Whelan.

Meetings are held separately so each family has private time with the president. But their occurrence on the same day shows how connected the two cases are, as the only deal that seems acceptable in the US is one involving both Americans – the WNBA, a well-known player, and the Michigan man, until recently it was between the two parties. . little known to the public, they were together at home at the same time,

Over the past few months, representatives of both families have been disappointed with what the administration sees as aggressive action and a lack of coordination.

Sherel Griner, for example, told The Associated Press in an interview in June that she was disappointed after a failed phone call by her husband that needed to be fixed by the US embassy in Moscow left couples who did not communicate by phone. fourth anniversaries.

Whelan’s relatives tried to draw attention to his case, fearing that the better known Griner, two-time Olympian and seven-time WNBA All-Star, would be publicly overshadowed. They also expressed disappointment when Whelan was not included in a prisoner exchange that brought home Marine Corps veteran Trevor Reid, another American detainee, last April, despite being detained in Russia since December 2018.

Friday’s meeting was scheduled before an unrelated visit to Russia by Bill Richardson, a veteran ambassador in hostage and detainee cases and the former US ambassador to the UN, was revealed this week. Talking to Russia outside of “established channels” risks derailing efforts to bring Griner and Whelan home, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday.

Administration officials say work on hostage and detainee cases continues whether or not the family met with the president, but such a meeting would no doubt help establish a connection. Biden met with Reed’s family in the Oval Office in March, after the Texas couple held up a large sign outside the White House for their son’s release.