Stuck in a Russian jail for cannabis possession, 31-year-old WNBA Star Briteny Griner—and her spouse Cherelle—are at their wit’s end, finding White House attempts to secure her release too slow, too incomplete and too inept to pull of a prisoner swap with the Russian Federation. Griner and Cherelle can thank the state of war between the U.S. and Russian Federation, leaving Britney in limbo, without a viable deal to bring her home. While all the experts focus on a quid-pro-quo between Russia and the U.S. for a prisoner swap, the U.S. is in a whole new ballgame, now that the U.S pays the Ukrainian government to fight a proxy war to topple the Russian government. Ordinary prisoner swap channels don’t exist like they did before 79-year-old President Joe Biden decided March 26 that 69-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin could no longer stay in power as Russian president.
Griner began her trial in Moscow July 1, already pleading guilty on the advice of her Russian attorney. Apart from the details of Giners’s arrest for possessing hashish oil vape-cartridges in her luggage, the only way Britney gets out of the Russian penal system is with a high-end State Department prisoner swap. When the Biden White pulled off the swap April 28 for 30-year-old American Trevor Reed, who spent 985 days in Russia custody and 53-year-old convicted Russian cocaine smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko, it was a different ballgame. Biden admitted at the time he was surprised that Russia completed the deal. But this time it’s different with Biden calling for the end of Putin’s rule and 69-year-old Defense Seceretary Lloyd Austin who called April 26 for the destruction of the Russian army. Biden and Austin made the war personal calling for Putin’s removal and degrading the army.
So when it comes to a prisoner swap today for Griner and possibly 52-year-old Paul Whelan, whose been serving out a 16-year-sentence since June 15, 2020, it’s a different story now that the war has turned personal. Putin said yesterday that he set conditions for ending the war but the longer the war goes, the less likely he’ll be inclined to make concessions for peace. What better opportunity did the State Department have today when 59-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with 72-year-old Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov? Yet Blinken used his time with Lavrov to lambaste the Russian Foreign minister for the Ukraine War, opening up no discussion at all about Britney Griner and Paul Whelan. So when Britney’s spouse, Cherelle, complains about the Biden White House doing nothing, it’s much worse than that. Blinken did everything to keep Britney in jail.
American legal experts think that Russia takes Americans as hostage bait, exacting concessions, financial or otherwise to get them out. “The whole point of a state like Russia arresting an American is not because it’s a legitimate criminal proceeding, but because they intend to use them as a hostage,” said Dr. Dani Gilbert, hostage taking and recovery expert at Dartmouth College John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding. Gilbert knows that the basic facts of the case against Griner possessing cannabis in Russia are not in dispute. All foreign countries have different laws about marijuana possession, whether or not it’s legal in the U.S. Griner knew the risks when she put hashish vape-cartridges in her luggage before traveling to the Russian Federation. But whether anyone considers the Russian legal system legitimate or not, U.S.-Russian diplomacy is at an all-time low.
Blinken could have parked the Ukraine War vitriol at the door when he met in Bali with Lavrov but chose instead to slam the Russian Federation. If Blinken though one bit about getting out Griner and Whelan, why did he act with so much hostility toward Lavrov? “I think we war safely in the territory of bargaining chip now,” said Gilbert. “I’m very comfortable thinking of [Griner] is those terms and think of this as a case of hostage diplomacy,” not realizing that if Blinken and Lavrov can’t form any rapport at the highest level, it’s not going to fly at the lower level. Whatevr happened with Reed back in April, it’s a whole new ballgame now with Biden admitting that he seeks regime change in Moscow. Griner has been caught in a geopolitical vice with the top man at the State Department making things worse to get her out. Blinken only made Griner’s fate worse.
State Department officials think that getting U.S. prisoners like cocaine dealer Konstantim Yaroshenko or arms smuggler Viktor Bout back to Russia offers an appealing deal to the Kremlin. But with the Ukraine War raging and Blinken slamming the Russian Federation at the G20 in Bali, it hasn’t helped the cause of getting Britney Griner or Paul Whelan out of Russian jails. Putin and Lavrov no doubt will make any future prisoner swap contingent on U.S. concessions in the Ukraine War. Biden and Blinken have signaled they intend to fight the Russian Federation until they give up and leave Ukraine. Griner and Whelan find themselves the real hostages, not because of Russia but because their own country won’t negotiate an end to the Ukraine War. Blinken’s refusal to get along with Lavrov at the G20 tells just how bad U.S. Russian relations have become.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
