Biden determined to get WNBA star Griner back to the United States

U.S. President Joe Biden is “determined” to get WNBA star Brittney Griner back to the United States, adding he is hopeful Russian president Vladimir Putin will be willing to discuss a prisoner exchange.

“My hope is that now that the [midterm] election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Biden said.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison following a conviction for drug smuggling in August.

The double-Olympic winner was arrested at an airport near Moscow in February when cannabis oil vapes were found in her bags.

The 32-year-old is currently in the process of being transferred to a Russian penal colony after an appeal of her conviction was denied Oct. 25.

Penal colonies are the descendants of Soviet-era enforced labour camps, otherwise known as gulags.

“Our primary concern continues to be BG’s health and well-being,” Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said in a statement.

“As we work through this very difficult phase of not knowing exactly where BG is or how she is doing, we ask for the public’s support in continuing to write letters and express their love and care for her.”

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The U.S. State Department has categorized Griner as being wrongfully detained.

Biden has attempted to work with Putin for months on a potential prisoner exchange but has not gotten much cooperation from the Russian president, who has long had an adversarial relationship with the United States.

Tensions have skyrocketed between Russia and the United States over aid the Biden administration has sent to Ukraine after Putin ordered an invasion of the bordering country earlier this year.

There has not been a direct link between the Griner case and the war in Ukraine, but it’s unlikely the relationship between the U.S. and Russia has helped matters.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration made a “substantial proposal” over the summer for the release of Griner and ex-Marine Paul Whelan. Biden said last month that his administration was in “constant contact” with Russia regarding her release.

Several experts have called Griner a political prisoner.

The WNBA and several of its stars have released statements calling on the Biden administration to bring Griner back to the United States.