Brittney Griner, a professional American basketball player, was detained in Russia in February 2022 for marijuana possession and was later sentenced to 9 years in prison.

She was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.

Griner's detention was classified as a "wrongful detention" by the US government, implying that she was being held as a political pawn.

The US government made a "substantial" proposal to Russia to bring home wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, offering Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, in exchange.

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release involved the US releasing Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker, in exchange for Griner.

The deal was met with criticism and raised questions about how America's adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

Griner's experience in the Russian penitentiary system was marked by harsh conditions, including limited heat and hot water, which led her to cut her hair to make her life easier.

After her release, Griner expressed a newfound appreciation for life, saying that tomorrow is not guaranteed.

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release may have implications for the global sports community's perception of Russia and its human rights record.

The international community's perception of Russia and its human rights record is likely to be negatively affected by the imprisonment of Brittney Griner and the treatment of other foreign players in the country.

The US government's ability to secure the release of wrongfully detained Americans may be influenced by the level of attention and pressure brought to bear on their cases.

The Biden administration's cautious approach to freeing Americans held overseas has been marked by a bureaucratic decision-making process.

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release is not considered a step towards improving US-Russia relations, according to the Kremlin.

The relations between the US and Russia remain in a "sorry state", as stated by Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson.

The US will continue to support Ukraine despite the prisoner swap.

The discussions between the US and Russia that led to the prisoner swap were limited to the topic of the exchange and did not represent a broader conversation.

The US had been in discussion with Russia for months prior to the prisoner swap, despite deteriorating relations over the invasion of Ukraine.

The US will continue to press Russia to free other detained Americans, including Paul Whelan.

The prisoner swap was a separate issue from the broader US-Russia relations and the conflict in Ukraine.

The US official described the prisoner swap as having 'zero' effect on the US approach to the conflict in Ukraine.

The US and Russia have a history of prisoner swaps, with Trevor Reed being swapped for Konstantin Yaroshenko in a previous exchange.

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release may impact future US-Russia relations, as the Biden Administration's cautious approach to freeing Americans held overseas has been marked by a bureaucratic decision-making process.

The US government is concerned that prisoner swaps could exacerbate other points of friction and create more incentive for adversaries to capture Americans.

The arbitrary detention of Americans for bogus crimes has become a more common practice among foreign governments, including Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and China.

The Biden Administration's approach to freeing Americans held overseas is in contrast to the Trump Administration's more public and free-wheeling approach.

The US government is working to free other Americans being held in Russia, including Paul Whelan, who was arrested on suspicion of espionage in 2018.

The Biden Administration is taking a cautious approach to Griner's case, as they are concerned that raising too much attention to her detention could play into Russian President Vladimir Putin's hands.

The US government views the wrongful detention of Americans as a threat to the safety of everyone working, traveling, and living abroad.

The Biden Administration is working to bring home all Americans who are wrongly detained overseas, including those held in Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and China.

The prisoner swap between the US and Russia, exchanging Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout, may have implications for the global sports community's perception of Russia and its human rights record.

The swap has been criticized for excluding Paul Whelan, another US citizen imprisoned in Russia.

The deal has raised questions about how America's adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

The US and Russia were able to find common ground on the prisoner swap despite their strained relationship since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The swap was facilitated by the UAE, with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba playing key roles in the negotiations.

Pro-Kremlin commentators have hailed the swap as a return to diplomacy, but analysts and US officials have downplayed its significance.

The exchange has not changed the dire state of relations between Russia and the West.

The prisoner swap may be seen as a calculated move by Russia to improve its international image, particularly in the global sports community, by releasing a high-profile prisoner like Brittney Griner.

The US administration's decision to prioritize Griner's release over Whelan's may be perceived as a strategic choice.

The global sports community may view Russia negatively due to its human rights record and actions in Ukraine.

Russia's international reputation and relationships may take 20-25 years to recover from the consequences of its actions in Ukraine.

The country may face economic difficulties, with its business sector potentially shrinking to the level of North Korea.

The Russian team was not allowed to compete under its national flag at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to doping sanctions.

The National Hockey League (NHL) decided not to send its players to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing COVID-19 concerns.

The EU has imposed sanctions on 33 individuals and entities tied to Alexei Navalny's death.

The sanctioned entities include Russian penal colonies where Alexei Navalny was detained.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to a cascading effect of boycotts, sanctions, and bans for goods, trade, travel, and sport.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) applied sanctions on Russian athletes and teams after the invasion.

The imprisonment of US basketball player Brittney Griner has added to the wartime chill driving foreign players out of Russia.

Griner's 9-year prison sentence has been seen as excessively harsh, even by Russian standards.

The international community's perception of Russia and its human rights record is likely to be negatively affected by the imprisonment of Brittney Griner and the treatment of other foreign players in the country.

Brittney Griner, a professional American basketball player, was detained in Russia in February 2022 for marijuana possession and was later sentenced to 9 years in prison.

Title:

Content: Diplomat Sparks Renewed Hope For Brittney Griner Prisoner Exchange

The situation surrounding Brittney Griner's case is looking a little less bleak, thanks to the recent developments brought about by negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In early November, the WNBA star had been transferred to a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia. There, she began fulfilling her nine-year sentence for drug possession. As reported by Reuters, authorities initially arrested Griner in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. While she attempted to appeal the ruling, it was ultimately upheld by a Russian court.

"This has been [a] very traumatic experience, waiting for this day, waiting for the first court, and getting nine years for a crime that I was barely over the significant amount," she said at the hearing (via CBS News). "I don't understand the first court's decision to give one year less than the max when I've been here almost 8 months, and people with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given... I really hope that the court will adjust this sentence, because it's been very, very stressful and very traumatic to my mental and psyche, being away from my family and not being able to communicate." However, there is now renewed hope that Griner could be released, with a Russian diplomat claiming that a swap could happen sometime in the future.

Russian diplomat says there's 'always a chance' for a swap

Not all hope is lost, after all. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Russia is not turning its back on the possibility of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. As reported by the New York Post, Ryabkov told reporters that there is "always a chance" when asked about the likelihood of a swap taking place before the end of the year. However, he noted that in the past, there had been multiple instances when it seemed as if Russia would agree to a swap, only for the plan to fall apart. If the prisoner swap does take place, Ryabkov said it would "send a positive signal that not everything is hopeless in Russian-American relations."

In the meantime, it looks like Brittney Griner has her work cut out for her. Maria Alyokhina, a former member of the band Pussy Riot, didn't mince words when she spoke to NPR about her own experience at a Russian penal colony. "It has a bit better conditions than [the] original gulag system from the 1950s," she said, but added that it's still "a labor camp." She described the grim reality she endured while serving out her own sentence, calling it inhumane. "For 100 women, there are like three toilets and no hot water," she recalled, adding that the penal colony is merely a "legal slavery system."

According to a statement released by her lawyers (via BBC), she is trying her best to survive and is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment."

She was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport for possessing vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia.

Griner's detention was classified as a "wrongful detention" by the US government, implying that she was being held as a political pawn.

Title:

Content: This website uses relevant technologies to provide a better reading experience, while respecting the privacy of users. Click here to understand the privacy statement of the Central News Agency. When you close this window, you agree to the above regulations.
Your browser does not appear to support Traditional Chinese.
Would you like to go to CNA ’ s English website, “Focus Taiwan ”?
Koko Koko Koko Koko Koko Koko
"日本語版「フィーカス」について" (in Japanese).
U.S. basketball star detained in Russia for months, Blinken speaks to family
2022 / 6 / 23 15: 49
Please agree to our privacy policy in order to enable news listening.
Please agree to our privacy policy in order to enable news listening.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia for months, and a coalition of human rights groups today urged President Joe Biden and Russia to "reach an agreement" to secure her release, and Secretary of State Colin Blinken also spoke to Griner's wife today.
WNBA player Griner, who won two Olympic gold medals for the United States, was detained at a Moscow airport on February 17 after being charged with carrying several e-cigarette boxes containing cannabis oil in his luggage. The maximum sentence is 10 years in prison.
A Russian court last week extended her pre-trial detention to July 2.
Senior State Department officials said Antony Blinken spoke with Greiner ’ s same-sex wife, Cherelle Griner, this evening, but did not disclose details.
The State Department said yesterday that Mr. Greiner had not been able to speak to his wife as scheduled over the weekend because of logistical problems exacerbated by Russia ’ s restrictions on the U.S. Embassy ’ s operations in Moscow.
Forty advocacy groups, including the National Organization for Women, the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Defamation League (GLAAD), have praised the Biden administration ’ s efforts, including in May when it said the 31-year-old Greiner had been “wrongly detained ” and assigned diplomats to handle his release.
But they say more needs to be done.
Reuters reviewed the groups ’ letters to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, which read: “The U.S. government categorizes Britney as wrongfully detained and acknowledges that she is essentially a political pawn. ”
“While these are vital measures, we now urge you to reach an agreement so that Britney can return to the United States safely and immediately. ”
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson told Reuters the government was looking at ways to secure Greiner ’ s release.
"President Biden has made it clear that it is necessary to see all U.S. nationals held as hostages or wrongfully detained abroad released, including Greiner," Watson said in an email.
“The United States Government continues to make vigorous efforts to try to bring her back using all available methods. ” (Translator: Lee Pei-shan / Authored by: Chan Cheng-yi) 1110623
Central News Agency "First-hand News" app
The text, pictures and audio and video of this website shall not be reproduced, broadcast or transmitted or used without authorization.

The US government made a "substantial" proposal to Russia to bring home wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, offering Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, in exchange.

Title:

Content: U.S. made 'substantial' offer for Brittney Griner prisoner swap with Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says
Your inbox approves Opening Day payrolls Falling short at 50 Best sports experiences

U.S. made 'substantial' offer for Brittney Griner prisoner swap with Russia

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the United States made a "substantial" proposal to Russia to bring home wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, who is also serving a prison sentence in Russia.

CNN reported that the U.S. offered Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer nicknamed "The Merchant of Death," for the prisoner swap. A prisoner swap freed former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed from a Russian penal colony in April.

Blinken added he would engage with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It was the first public acknowledgement of a deal that could involve a prisoner swap or addressing the sanctions placed on the country after it invaded Ukraine.

“My hope would be that in speaking to Foreign Minister Lavrov, I can advance the efforts to bring them home,” Blinken said.

Blinken said President Joe Biden has been directly involved in the negotiations and he signed off on the offer to Moscow.

The president “signs off on any proposal that we make, certainly when it comes to Americans who are being arbitrarily detained abroad, including in this specific case,” Blinken said.

He said the U.S. agreement to free American Trevor Reed shows that Biden "is prepared to make tough decisions if it means the safe return of Americans."

Blinken added: "There is utility in sending clear, direct messages to the Russians on key priorities for us. These include the return of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, and following through on the grain agreement."

Griner appeared in court Wednesday for the sixth time since her trial began July 1. She has been detained on drug charges for carrying vape cartridges containing marijuana while traveling to the country on Feb. 17. Her detention in Russia, regardless of a verdict, has been authorized until Dec. 20. Whelan has been in custody since 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges the U.S. disputes.

Bout was handed a 25-year sentence in 2012 for conspiring to sell weapons to people who planned to kill Americans.

“He’s a bad dude,” Rob Saale, a former hostage negotiator with the FBI, told USA TODAY Sports.

Any deal involving him would involve multiple U.S. prisoners, Saale said. Blinken wouldn't comment on the Russian response to the offer, although CNN reported it was floated last month.

"I'm not going to characterize it," Blinken said. "My interest and my focus is that to the best of my ability, we get the yes.

"This is something that we are focused on 24/7."

The WNBA and Players' Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Contributing: Lindsay Schnell; Associated Press

Follow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release involved the US releasing Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker, in exchange for Griner.

Title:

Content: Categories
Finance

Inside Joe Biden’s Faustian pact with Russia to secure Brittney

Three weeks ago, the American basketball star Brittney Griner arrived at a Russian penal colony known for torture, beatings and slave labour to begin a nine-year sentence following her arrest at a Moscow airport in February for possession of vaping cartridges containing hashish oil.

But in a stunning twist on Thursday, Griner’s plight as an unwitting pawn in a high-stakes geopolitical struggle came to an abrupt end, as she arrived in Abu Dhabi from Moscow and boarded a plane home to reunite with her family. She landed in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday morning.

In exchange for Griner’s release, the US released Viktor Bout, a notorious arms trafficker who was serving a 25-year sentence for conspiring to kill US citizens and aiding a terrorist organisation.

The deal was met with jubilation from Griner’s family and supporters. But the controversial swap for Bout — as well as the exclusion of Paul Whelan, another US citizen imprisoned in Russia — also drew criticism and raised questions about how America’s adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

US officials began working toward Griner’s release as soon as she was apprehended in Russia in February, but the effort became more concentrated on prisoner swap negotiations once the State Department declared in May that she had been wrongfully detained.

In July, US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the phone for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. During the call, Blinken pressed Lavrov to accept a “substantial proposal” from Washington to release Griner and the former marine Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on what the US and his family say are trumped-up espionage charges.

Americans had offered to free Bout, people familiar with the discussions said, but the Russians said they also wanted the release of Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy agency who was convicted of murder in Germany last year.

In the ensuing months, officials said, Washington made a number of offers to Russia in an attempt to secure the release of Griner and Whelan.

However, Biden administration officials said that in recent weeks it became clear that Moscow would only accept a one-for-one swap. According to one senior administration official, “the choice was bringing Brittney Griner home right now or bringing no Americans home from Russia right now”.

Despite the Biden administration’s insistence that they had no choice but to exclude Whelan from the deal, Republican lawmakers and others denounced the decision, as well as facilitating the release of Bout, who is also known as “the merchant of death”.

“The Biden administration has allowed Viktor Bout, a dangerous arms dealer who was convicted of conspiring to kill American law enforcement, to walk free,” said Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.

“This move to appease Vladimir Putin will only encourage further hostage taking by Russian security forces,” he added.

US officials described Biden’s choice as a painful one, adding that they would continue to work for Whelan’s release. Washington previously secured the release of Trevor Reed, another former marine, via a prisoner swap in April.

People familiar with Thursday’s prisoner exchange likened the episode to “a scene from the Cold War”, with Russian and American planes meeting on the tarmac at an airport in Abu Dhabi.

The Russian plane carrying Griner arrived first, one of the people said. American officials and people familiar with the events said the basketball star was upbeat on the tarmac, saying she was looking forward to returning home.

The Griner-Bout swap marks a rare instance in which the US and Russia have been able to find common ground since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sending the west’s relationship with Moscow to its lowest ebb since the Cuban missile crisis.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Americans and Russians directly negotiated the details of the swaps, with UAE officials including president Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan helping to facilitate the mechanics of the transfer.

It is not unusual for third countries to aid in brokering international diplomatic agreements such as prisoner swaps between hostile countries.

Sheikh Mohammed and Putin discussed the matter when they met in Russia in October, and they spoke on the phone on Wednesday, people familiar with the meetings said. Yousef al-Otaiba, UAE ambassador to the US, was present for the exchange on Thursday and had helped to co-ordinate details on the American side.

On Thursday, some pro-Kremlin commentators hailed the swap as a return to diplomacy. “Everyone sees through this exchange that Moscow and Washington are holding secret negotiations and can make a deal,” Sergei Markov, a political scientist and former member of Russia’s parliament, wrote on Telegram. “And everyone hopes that means Moscow and Washington can make a deal to end the war in Ukraine.”

However, analysts and US officials said that while the breakthrough was a sign that the two sides could get things done when their interests align, it was not evidence of any larger thaw in relations. Biden administration officials added that the recent conversations with Russia about Griner and other prisoners were limited to the release of wrongfully detained Americans.

“The exchange doesn’t do anything to change the situation for bilateral relations. There are lots of issues where they are in open confrontation,” said Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He said the otherwise dire state of relations between Russia and the west was thrown into sharp relief last week, when Moscow abruptly pulled out of talks on renewing the New Start treaty, the only remaining agreement governing the countries’ nuclear arsenals.

“This is a global stability issue: the last remainders of arms control are falling apart, which could lead to an arms race and a higher risk of dangerous incidents,” he said. “The trajectory we’re on is making that all the more likely.”

Source link

The deal was met with criticism and raised questions about how America's adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

Griner's experience in the Russian penitentiary system was marked by harsh conditions, including limited heat and hot water, which led her to cut her hair to make her life easier.

Title:

Content: MadameNoire Featured Video

Source: Mike Mattina / Getty

Brittney Griner’s new chapter of freedom following her release from a Russian penal colony includes a new change in her appearance.

Footage of the 6-foot-9 WNBA star showed Griner returning to the U.S. from Russia without her torso-length locs.

A source close to the Pheonix Mercury player told Insider that the 32-year-old basketball star decided to cut her hair to avoid the impacts of Russia’s brutal winters.

More context provided by the outlet and ESPN’s TJ Quinn highlighted that Russian authorities were holding Griner in a facility with limited heat and hot water and that the WNBA felt especially cold after washing her locs.

Play

Brittney Griner’s Locs And Release

Griner’s Russian attorney, Maria Blagovolina, told ESPN that the athlete presumed she’d stay in Russia for the long haul.

That said, Griner’s big chop was prompted by the athlete wanting to make her life easier.

“She should have waited until New Year’s Day,” Blagovolina stated.

“She had honestly no complaints,” the attorney added, reflecting on Griner’s life in the penal colony. “Things could have been much worse.”

President Biden said on Dec. 8 that securing Griner’s release took “painstaking and intense negotiations.”

“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” he expressed. “We never stopped pushing for her release.”

Griner was released via a prisoner swap for Russian Arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The athlete was detained in Russia since February after being apprehended at a Moscow airport for having cannabis vape cartridges in her possession.

Griner later pled guilty and was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison. While the athlete chopped off her locs out of presumed necessity, the act often symbolizes a new beginning for those who’ve grown their hair for such a long time.

We wish Griner and her family the best as they transition into her latest chapter, one of freedom.

RELATED CONTENT: “People Who Are Big Mad Brittney Griner Is Free Don’t Value Black Women”

TRENDING ON MADAMENOIRE

After her release, Griner expressed a newfound appreciation for life, saying that tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Title:

Content:
Brittney Griner makes her WNBA comeback on "day of joy"

Los Angeles, California - Brittney Griner made her WNBA comeback for her Phoenix Mercury team on Friday, after spending 10 months in a prison in Russia.

In her first competitive game for almost two years, the center finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but could not prevent Phoenix from slumping to a 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.

"It felt good. It felt real good. It felt like the last time I played," Griner said in an on-court interview at the end of the first quarter.

"I appreciate everything a little bit more, all of the small moments," she added. "Tomorrow is not guaranteed, you don’t know what it’s going to look like."

Athletes Ja Morant speaks out after suspension for second gun video

Griner had been given nine years in prison in Russia for drug possession after being detained in 2022 at a Moscow area airport for having a small amount of cannabis oil in her luggage.

She was released after 10 months in exchange for the notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US.

VP Harris present for Griner's "day of joy"

US Vice President Kamala Harris was also at the Crypto.com arena for the game and gave the Mercury a pre-game speech.

"Thank you for all that you did in supporting Brittney. Because I know that was rough and so difficult for you as a team, as a family," Harris told the team.

Griner said "it was nice to be able to see her face-to-face and thank her for everything."

Athletes Tom Brady gives NFL rookie quarterbacks key advice: "It's the only thing you can do"

For the first time since last season, Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard opened her pre-game comments without announcing how many days Griner had been jailed.

"Today is a day of joy. An amazing, amazing thing has happened," Nygaard said.

Cover photo: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

More on Athletes:

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release may have implications for the global sports community's perception of Russia and its human rights record.

Title:

Content: Today is Monday April 17, 2023
Advertisement

Paul Whelan’s family says he feels ‘abandoned’ by US in Russian prison

Posted/updated on: April 17, 2023 at 12:46 pm

(NEW YORK) -- The family of American Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia for years, said Monday he feels "abandoned" by the U.S. and that "his resilience is shaken" in the wake of Russia's arrest of a second American on espionage charges.

In a Friday phone call with his parents, Whelan, a businessman and former U.S. Marine, said "he feels as though the U.S. government has abandoned him," according to his brother David.

"His struggles have been apparent in his letters and in his phone calls over the years," David Whelan wrote. "But now, Paul seems rattled like never before, understandably apprehensive that the U.S. government will choose not to bring him home again, now that there is another American wrongfully detained by the Kremlin."

Last month's arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has brought renewed calls from U.S. officials for Russia to release Whelan.

Like Whelan, Gershkovich, 31, has been charged with espionage. Whelan, 53, was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Gershkovich is currently being held in pretrial detention. Russian authorities blocked American diplomats from gaining to access to the imprisoned reporter for weeks, but on Monday U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy tweeted that she was finally able to visit him.

The U.S. government has designated both Whelan and Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained," allowing additional resources to be applied to their cases.

But the reaction to Gershkovich's detention has also shown how the backing of a large media organization -- the Wall Street Journal -- can place more attention on a case -- and more pressure on the White House.

"The speed at which Evan’s case has been handled by the administration should be replicated for every case," Jonathan Franks, the spokesperson for a coalition of families of Americans detained abroad, the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, said last week. "Unfortunately, we have seen firsthand that the reality is, that the speed with which the Government acts is very different for detainees who aren’t famous or journalists."

In the nearly four years and four months since Whelan was arrested, the U.S. has secured the release of at least two other Americans designated "wrongfully detained": WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, neither of whom was accused of espionage.

Griner was released in December in a prisoner swap for a Russian arms dealer after being held for nine-and-a-half months. The WNBA had made a significant effort to draw attention to her case and pressure the Biden administration.

Reed had been held for two years and was released in exchange for a Russian drug trafficker. He was freed less than a month after his parents protested outside the White House and secured a meeting with Biden in the process.

Sources within the State Department say that Whelan’s ongoing detention is not for lack of trying on the part of U.S. officials, but the result of Russia’s unwillingness to negotiate and how severely the Kremlin views the espionage charges against him -- allegations the U.S. strongly rejects.

In early March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly revealed the U.S. had made a second offer to Russia for Whelan, calling it a “serious proposal” but declining to disclose any additional detail.

Blinken has repeatedly urged Russia to accept the agreement, but Moscow has broadcast little interest and there is no indication that that the administration has made any attempts to enhance the deal.

Whelan's family has maintained close contact with the State Department and the White House National Security Council over the years since Whelan was first detained in 2018 -- primarily through his sister Elizabeth.

But Elizabeth Whelan, he said, is now "going to pause her interactions with the State and National Security staff until they stop wasting her time and come up with something more than thoughts and prayers."

"It is unfair and unreasonable to put the burden on wrongful detainee families to grab the White House's attention, to do the creative work, to ensure that the different parts of the government are communicating clearly and working effectively to bring Paul home," he continued. "There is a literal cost to families to do this advocacy."

The White House and State Department did not respond when asked for reaction to David Whelan's statement.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Advertisement

Advertisement
Advertisement

© 1999 - 2023 Copyright ATW Media, LLC

Title:

Content:   • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Russia can't pretend to right its wrongs with sport any longer

·Writer
·7 min read
In this article:
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, it created a cascading effect of boycotts, sanctions, and bans for goods, trade, travel and sport.

While each will impact the country, sport has always been Russia’s tool — a mechanism to purport dominance, and build a positive global image and national identity.

As Germany’s Athleten Deutschland, an independent athlete association aiming to protect the rights of elite German athletes said:

“The Putin system for many years has deliberately used sports for its purposes…Sporting success is seen as a sign of national strength and superiority. Athletes are utilized to produce this success. Any means have been used to achieve this — be it the violation of human rights…or the operation of a state-orchestrated doping system.”

Soon after Russia’s invasion, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) applied sanctions on Russian athletes and teams. With this, Russia’s capacity for athletic success on the world stage, image in sport, and its ability to present the nation as a collaborative member of global sport vanished.

“This invasion of the Ukraine resulting in widespread bans across sporting federations has probably taken sport as an image building tool right out of play for Russia for the foreseeable future,” says University of Guelph professor Dr. Ann Pegoraro, who is director of the International Institute for Sport Business and Leadership.

In particular hockey, which became synonymous with Russian success during the Soviet Union era, will no longer be an instrument of president Vladimir Putin’s nationalism.

“Perhaps the one sport that has helped them the most, hockey, has iced Russia from participation,” Pegoraro added. “The professional hockey leagues are cutting off ties to Russia, sponsors are removing Russian players from campaigns and the sport where they could once claim dominance and intense rivalries will not be an avenue to showcase their athletic dominance. Images of Russian athletes creating moments of nationalistic pride through sporting success will not be seen for some time to come.”

Some, however, don’t believe governing bodies such as the IOC have the resolve to maintain sanctions beyond the end of the conflict, even if the impact to Ukraine and global stability remains.

According to Professor Barbara Revel, Durham University’s Director of Research who specializes in Olympic History, the IOC’s “antipathy toward taking actions that it sees as overtly political” is unlikely to last. Dr. Revel predicts the IOC could reverse decisions in time for the 2024 Olympics.

“The current bans are a virtually cost-free way for the IOC to hop on the bandwagon of international shock and outrage about Russia's war of aggression. The IOC leadership is surely calculating that such bans will have no bearing on the next Olympic Games which are not going to happen until summer 2024.”

Historically however, there is precedent for sanctions continuing beyond war.

Following WWI, five countries, including Germany, were ostracized from the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. Following WWII, both Germany and Japan were not invited to the 1948 London Summer Olympics, nor the St. Moritz Winter Olympics.

Immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the IOC recommended similar sanctions asking that “International Sports Federations and sports event organisers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions.”

The IOC itself has historically shied away from banning nations, though.

“The IOC’s reactions to world conflicts are often more complicated than they appear,” explains Western University assistant professor and social history of sport researcher MacIntosh Ross.

“There’s a common misconception that Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, Hungary and Germany were barred from competing at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics,” Ross continued. “That’s not strictly true. At the time, the IOC still believed that banning nations, even nations that fueled bloody world wars, was a political decision and therefore off limits. Instead, the IOC told organizers not to invite them.”

The same is true today with Russia, whether it relates to state-sponsored doping or the current invasion of Ukraine.

The IOC has traditionally claimed “political neutrality,” stepping away from conflict, and has not “banned” Russian athletes from upcoming competition, including the 2024 Olympic Games.

“During the 21st century, the IOC has been hesitant to exclude nations on the basis of armed conflict, even when it violates the Olympic Truce,” Ross explains. “The IOC’s move to allow National Olympic Committees to participate even when a nation is sanctioned feels hollow. It’s got to the point where one has to question whether the philosophy of Olympism means anything at all to the IOC, because the bits about supporting the ‘harmonious development of humankind’ and ‘promoting a peaceful society’ seem to be an afterthought, even as Russia invades Ukraine.”

Despite the Olympic Truce — which aims to allow athletes and spectators to participate in sport safely — as IOC President Thomas Bach stated in 2020, “The Olympic Games cannot prevent wars and conflicts. Nor can they address all the political and social challenges in our world. But they can set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another.”

The IIHF echoed this. President Luc Tardif utilized nearly identical verbiage claiming “The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions being taken over the war in Ukraine.”

While it is true that the Olympic Games, nor any venue of sport, can prevent war, sport can be at least one small part of the solution — part of the pressure to end conflict.

During the apartheid era, South Africa was expelled from the 1964 Olympics, and from the International Olympic Committee altogether in 1970 due to their racist laws of segregation. South Africa did not compete in another Olympic Games until 1994, three years after the end of apartheid.

Presently, in response to Russia, international federations, leagues, and private teams immediately moved to exclude and isolate Russia — both from competition, and financially.

“This will be a personal injury for Vladimir Putin,” said Pegoraro. “These bans are removing the privilege of sport from Russia, and also squeezing it financially with loss of revenue.”

With the exclusion of Russia from upcoming international competition, the lasting impact on Russia’s global image, superiority built through sport, and the success of Russian athletes abroad will be felt by the Kremlin.

The longevity and resolve of decisions made by the IOC, IIHF and FIFA, however, is yet to be seen.

As the IOC’s own statement says, the organization “may adapt its recommendations and measures according to future developments.”

The IIHF echoed the indecisiveness of future action.

“The IIHF Council has not left out the possibility of further actions impacting future events or other IIHF activities but hopes above all for a swift and peaceful resolution to the war,” their statement said.

Further action could preclude participation in competition beyond 2022, or the adaptation of recommendations could involve the return of Russian athletes.

In Pegoraro’s eyes however, the world view of Russia in sport has changed. The damage is done, and it will take Russia longer to recover, whether athletic success is found or not, from the devastating and unfounded invasion of Ukraine.

“The inability to compete on the international stage will also cut off whatever Russian government that emerges post this invasion from the opportunity to use sport to rally its citizens, and unite them even briefly behind the country,” she said.

“Often sport events bring nations together and can help facilitate much needed internal political dialogue to heal divided nations. And we are seeing many Russian individuals protesting this invasion, indicating that the nation is indeed fractured. Sport will not be able to help heal that divide for some time.”

More from Yahoo Sports

Title:

Content: Foreign sports stars flee Russia as world shuns their teams

Darko Vojinovic/AP/File
Russia players react at the end of the 2019 Women's EuroBasket European Basketball Championship match between Russia and Sweden in Belgrade, Serbia, July 6, 2019.

Two ways to read the story

  • Quick Read
  • Deep Read ( 5 Min. )

Less than a year ago, Russia’s domestic sports leagues, like their peers across Europe, flourished with a mix of foreign and domestic players.

What a difference a war makes.

Why We Wrote This

The Ukraine war’s ramifications may not be hitting the Russian public hard, but Russian sports are suffering as foreign players and organizations boycott them.

Russian basketball, hockey, and soccer teams have been excluded from international competition since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and star foreign players are dropping their contracts and leaving the country. U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner’s 9-year prison sentence on drug smuggling charges has not improved the atmosphere.

Russian athletes have been shut out of international sports before – from the Russian Revolution in 1917 until 1952 – and the effects were clear. “There was no way to compare our level” with that of other countries, says Nikolai Yeremenko, a leading sports journalist.

Some veteran Soviet athletes say Russia’s isolation should be taken as an opportunity to better develop Russian players. But Russian sports fans will be the biggest losers, as the quality of games drops in the absence of foreigners.

“Right now we have no foreign players in our club,” says Sergei Druzhinin, manager of the Metallurg ice hockey team in Magnitogorsk. “The level of our games ... will be dragged down.”

Less than a year ago, Russia’s domestic sports leagues, like their peers across Europe, flourished with a mix of foreign and domestic players.

What a difference a war makes.

Today, amid deepening Cold War-like tensions between the Kremlin and the West, and as WNBA star Brittney Griner faces a 9-year sentence in a Russian penal colony, Russian basketball, hockey, and soccer teams are finding themselves forced out of international competition. And many of the one-time “legionnaires” – foreign players – on whom they depend are dropping their contracts and leaving the country.

Why We Wrote This

The Ukraine war’s ramifications may not be hitting the Russian public hard, but Russian sports are suffering as foreign players and organizations boycott them.

The alienation of Russian athletes from global sports has been an ongoing saga for years, since massive doping allegations largely forced official Russia out of the Olympics. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February led most international sports federations to ban Russian teams from scheduled competitions.

But less well known is the fate of hundreds of foreign players who, like Ms. Griner, had brought their expertise to far-flung local Russian sports teams that had been developing reputations at both the national and European levels.

The war has brought all that to a grinding halt, and upended European championship hopes for Russian basketball and soccer teams. Many European and American players have decamped while the few who remain have been subjected to considerable opprobrium.

The exodus of foreign legionnaires has been the subject of considerable debate in the Russian sports media, with some arguing that it spells the end of Russia’s sports ambitions for a generation, while others claim it will give more opportunities to Russian players and boost domestic sports development.

“Not enough qualified players”

Ms. Griner, a leading player with the Urals city of Yekaterinburg’s UMMC basketball team, was arrested on Feb. 17, before the war started, and charged with possession of a small quantity of hashish oil. In August, she was sentenced to 9 years in prison, an exceedingly harsh judgement even by Russian standards, which has caused speculation that the Kremlin hopes to use her in a Cold-War-style prisoner exchange with the United States.

But her ordeal has added to the wartime chill that’s already driving foreign players out of Russia.

“Obviously if one of the best basketball players is sitting in prison, it’s going to have a very discouraging effect on all foreign players who might think of signing a contract in Russia,” says Eduard Sorokin, an independent sports expert.

“All efforts to create a situation that attracts players of the highest level to Russian sports teams have been undermined, and all the benefits ruined. It’s not to say that legal violations should be overlooked. She pleaded guilty, [but] she might have just been fined and justice satisfied with minimal punishment. Now the damage is done.”

In an extensive interview with the official RIA-Novosti agency, UMMC captain Yevgenia Belyakova, who went to Moscow to testify on Ms. Griner’s behalf, praised her as a “good person” and a “disciplined” player who did not intend to break any laws. She lamented the fact that all the team’s foreign players and its Spanish coach left in February after Ms. Griner was arrested and the team was excluded from the EuroLeague Women’s competition.

“Naturally, the situation with Brittney could not but affect our legionnaires,” she said. “[We were] a big and friendly family. We not only played together, but also spent a lot of time off the court. It’s no secret that our team was formed for the Euroleague, and victory in [the championship] was our main goal of the season.”

Evgenia Novozhenina/AP
WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner (background center) listens to a verdict in a courtroom in Khimki, Russia, just outside Moscow, Aug. 4, 2022.

A similar situation pervades other sports, including hockey, where Russian teams have long been seen as a spawning ground for the NHL. The Kontinental Hockey League, which includes several non-Russian clubs, saw teams in Latvia and Finland drop out in protest of the war, and many players have followed suit.

“There are not enough qualified players to fill all Russian hockey teams; we need foreign players,” says Sergei Druzhinin, manager of the Metallurg hockey team in the Urals city of Magnitogorsk. “Right now we have no foreign players in our club. They’ve all gone. It means the level of our games, both as spectacle and professional attainment, will be dragged down.”

Some see an opportunity

Russian soccer may be taking the worst hit of all, says Nikolai Yeremenko, editor of Sovetsky Sport, a leading sports daily. “Football [soccer] has suffered more than most other sports. The money earned by leading Russian teams in [European competition] was a serious support for club budgets. But now all the high-level foreign players have left.”

“FIFA [international soccer’s governing body] made this possible by changing the rules to allow foreign players to suspend their contracts [with Russian teams] without facing any legal consequences. As a result, teams cannot plan ahead,” he says. “A player can disappear and not face any punishment. It’s already clear that the level of Russian football has deteriorated. We can no longer compare our level with the European one.”

As of early August, 37 legionnaires had left the Russian Premier League, which includes 16 clubs, and 23 new foreign players have replaced them, according to the Moscow daily Sport Express. But most of those who have left were top-rated European players, and their replacements are lesser-known players from South America and Serbia.

“A year ago, the league was replenished with players from dozens of different countries, but now there is no such wide choice. In terms of newcomers, Brazil and Serbia are in the lead – countries that have always willingly sent footballers to Russia. The difference is that before they were one of many donors, and now they are almost the only ones,” the paper said.

Some Russians, such as Soviet-era basketball legend Stanislav Yeremin, argue that the crisis should be treated as an opportunity to develop Russian sports and forge new links with countries that will still compete with Russians.

“Look forward,” Mr. Yeremin told the Sport MK newspaper. “I don’t think that we will be in Europe for at least two or three years. Therefore, we need to turn to the Russian market, or try to look for opportunities for international competitions with those countries and clubs that could still play with us. If you close yourself in, then it will be difficult.”

Russian sports have been isolated before – excluded from international competition from the Russian Revolution in 1917 until 1952.  “There was no way to compare our level, and so we were left completely outside normal development of sports” says Mr. Yeremenko. “I don’t believe in any claims that this situation can work to our advantage. Progress is only possible when the strongest compete with the strongest. Sports can’t develop under sanctions.

“It’s very hard to say what we should do now. When you have the ideology of a besieged fortress, everything gets all mixed up.”

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Give us your feedback

We want to hear, did we miss an angle we should have covered? Should we come back to this topic? Or just give us a rating for this story. We want to hear from you.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2022/0825/Foreign-sports-stars-flee-Russia-as-world-shuns-their-teams
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe

The international community's perception of Russia and its human rights record is likely to be negatively affected by the imprisonment of Brittney Griner and the treatment of other foreign players in the country.

The US government's ability to secure the release of wrongfully detained Americans may be influenced by the level of attention and pressure brought to bear on their cases.

The Biden administration's cautious approach to freeing Americans held overseas has been marked by a bureaucratic decision-making process.

Title:

Content: Joey Reed and Paula Reed, the parents of Trevor Reed demonstrate in Lafayette Park near the White House on March 30, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
April 27, 2022 10:55 PM EDT

President Joe Biden waited until former Marine Trevor Reed was out of Moscow, had been successfully exchanged for a Russian prisoner in Turkey, and was safely on a plane bound for the U.S. before calling Reed’s family.

Reed had spent nearly 3 years in a Russian jail after being arrested in 2019 on charges of assaulting police in Moscow. But Biden had been concerned about contacting his family too soon and risking upsetting the sensitive deal before Reed was securely out of Russia’s reach.

When Reed was finally airborne, Biden told his family the good news and released a statement saying Reed’s return was “a testament to the priority my Administration places on bringing home Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained abroad.” He promised to continue pressing for the release of other Americans being held in Russia, including Paul Whelan, who was arrested on suspicion of espionage in a Moscow hotel in 2018. Reed was freed in exchange for the release of Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been sentenced in the U.S. in 2011 to 20 years on drug smuggling charges.

While other U.S. citizens captured abroad have been released during the Biden Administration, Reed’s was the first case in which Biden was willing to hand over a prisoner being held in the U.S. as part of the terms of the release, a step previous administrations had taken. Biden’s deliberate approach to freeing Americans held overseas has been marked by a cautious and bureaucratic decision-making process, according to two people involved in the negotiations, and a slow pace that has been frustrating to some families whose loved ones are held in foreign prisons.

“We continue to press for the release of Paul and we’re not done. We’ve not given up. It’s not over until every American who is wrongly detained is back home,” says a White House official. “It’s never fast enough for the people waiting for their loved ones and we get that. We understand their pain.”

While Biden decided to keep President Donald Trump’s lead hostage negotiator Roger Carstons in place, Biden’s careful tactics have stood in stark contrast to the free-wheeling and sometimes capricious way Trump went about bringing U.S. citizens home. Trump prided himself on pressing to get Americans released from prisons overseas, and relished the photo-ops that followed. But Biden and his advisors worry that prisoner swaps could exacerbate other points of friction and create more incentive for adversaries to capture Americans.

“It is night and day—with Trump, it was clearly something he saw as a gain for him, especially the way he did it very publicly,” says Vice President and Executive Director of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement Mickey Bergman, who worked with the Biden Administration on Reed’s release. In the previous Administration, getting a message directly to Trump was the key. “Trump had little to no policy process: if you can get in front of the President and if he likes it, he’ll do it,” Bergman says.

The Biden Administration though, “They’ve taken their time. They are a process-oriented administration,” Bergman says. “There’s a lot of these things that take an excruciating amount of time for people like me and for the families who are arguing for their release.”

Bergman traveled to Moscow at the end of February with former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson to meet Russian officials about Reed’s and Whelan’s cases, just before the Russian military launched its most recent invasion in Ukraine. It was on that trip that Russian officials made clear they would release Reed if the Americans handed over Yaroshenko. There was added urgency to Reed’s case because he was showing possible symptoms of tuberculosis. Richardson and Bergman brought the terms back to the Biden Administration and offered to manage the swap themselves, without official U.S. involvement, Bergman says. Biden decided to go ahead and have the U.S. government manage the exchange. “The credit is to Biden for actually making the decision and getting it done,” Bergman says.

But Reed’s detention was part of a broader global problem the U.S. faces. The arbitrary detention of Americans “for completely bogus crimes designed to gain leverage” has become a more common practice among a number of foreign governments, says a former senior State Department official who was recently involved in high-level negotiations for the release of Americans. “It reflects the changing global dynamics, the changing power relationships, as countries are circling each other trying to figure out how to get an advantage,” the former official says.

Reed’s release comes at a time when experts involved in helping negotiate the release of Americans detained overseas are seeing an uptick in Americans being arrested and held as bargaining chips, including in Venezuela, Iran, China. Venezuela recently released some Americans, after a visit from a high-level U.S. delegation, and holds several others. Iran is holding four American citizens. In Russia, addition to Whelan—who American officials say was not involved in spying—Russian authorities arrested WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner in February on suspicion of traveling with cannabis oil in vape cartridges. A person familiar with the talks around Griner’s case said that, at this point, U.S. officials are concerned that raising too much attention to her detention could play into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands by turning her into an even more high profile hostage, making it harder to get her released.

“Using wrongful detention as a bargaining chip represents a threat to the safety of everyone working, traveling and living abroad,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said April 27, the day Reed was released. “Our objective continues to be to bring Paul Whelan home and any American who is not with their family and is being detained overseas.”

More Must-Read Stories From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com.

Read More From TIME
You May Also Like
EDIT POST

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release is not considered a step towards improving US-Russia relations, according to the Kremlin.

Title:

Content: Friday 15 Jumada I 1444 AH - 9 December 2022 |
Programs
Watch our latest episodes online
Kremlin says prisoner exchange with U.S. not seen as step toward improved ties
Russian state news agencies, citing the Kremlin, said Friday that a prisoner swap involving Russian arms supplier Victor Bout and American basketball star Britney Greiner should not be seen as a step toward improving bilateral ties between Moscow and Washington.
TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying relations between the two countries remained “in an unfortunate state. ”
Following the Saudi-Emirati statement, which announced the success of the mediation led by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to exchange prisoners between Washington and Moscow, US President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that basketball player Britney Grainer, who has been detained in Russia since February, is “safe ” and“ on her way ” to the United States after a prisoner exchange with Moscow.
Biden tweeted: "Moments ago I spoke with Britney Grainer.
"She's safe and she's on a plane en route to the United States."
Biden acknowledged Washington ’ s failure to free Paul Whelan, who is imprisoned in Russia, unlike basketball player Britney Grainer, but vowed never to abandon efforts to free him.
Source:
• Reuters

The relations between the US and Russia remain in a "sorry state", as stated by Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson.

The US will continue to support Ukraine despite the prisoner swap.

Title:

Content: Russia Prisoner Swap Has "Zero" Effect On Relations: US Official

The official said that the United States had been in discussion with Russia for months despite the sharp deterioration of relations between the two powers over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

US marine Trevor Reed was jailed in Russia for assaulting the police.

Washington, United States:

The United States does not expect any improvement in relations with Russia and will keep full support for Ukraine despite Wednesday's prisoner swap with Moscow, a US official said.

"It represents no change -- zero -- to our approach to the appalling violence in Ukraine," a senior US official told reporters.

"These discussions with the Russians that led to this exchange were strictly limited to these topics -- not a broader conversation or even the start of one," he said on customary condition of anonymity.

The official said that the United States had been in discussion with Russia for months despite the sharp deterioration of relations between the two powers over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The official said that Reed -- jailed for allegedly assaulting Russian police officers while drunk -- appeared to be "in good spirits" and was on his way back to the United States.

President Joe Biden in turn freed Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was arrested in Liberia in 2010 for drug trafficking.

The US official said that he has been handed into "Russian custody" but declined further details.

The official said the United States would keep pressing Russia to free other detained Americans including Paul Whelan, a former security official at an auto parts company whom Moscow has accused of espionage.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

.

The discussions between the US and Russia that led to the prisoner swap were limited to the topic of the exchange and did not represent a broader conversation.

The US had been in discussion with Russia for months prior to the prisoner swap, despite deteriorating relations over the invasion of Ukraine.

The US will continue to press Russia to free other detained Americans, including Paul Whelan.

The prisoner swap was a separate issue from the broader US-Russia relations and the conflict in Ukraine.

The US official described the prisoner swap as having 'zero' effect on the US approach to the conflict in Ukraine.

The US and Russia have a history of prisoner swaps, with Trevor Reed being swapped for Konstantin Yaroshenko in a previous exchange.

The prisoner swap that secured Brittney Griner's release may impact future US-Russia relations, as the Biden Administration's cautious approach to freeing Americans held overseas has been marked by a bureaucratic decision-making process.

The US government is concerned that prisoner swaps could exacerbate other points of friction and create more incentive for adversaries to capture Americans.

The arbitrary detention of Americans for bogus crimes has become a more common practice among foreign governments, including Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and China.

The Biden Administration's approach to freeing Americans held overseas is in contrast to the Trump Administration's more public and free-wheeling approach.

The US government is working to free other Americans being held in Russia, including Paul Whelan, who was arrested on suspicion of espionage in 2018.

The Biden Administration is taking a cautious approach to Griner's case, as they are concerned that raising too much attention to her detention could play into Russian President Vladimir Putin's hands.

The US government views the wrongful detention of Americans as a threat to the safety of everyone working, traveling, and living abroad.

The Biden Administration is working to bring home all Americans who are wrongly detained overseas, including those held in Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and China.

The prisoner swap between the US and Russia, exchanging Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout, may have implications for the global sports community's perception of Russia and its human rights record.

The swap has been criticized for excluding Paul Whelan, another US citizen imprisoned in Russia.

The deal has raised questions about how America's adversaries might leverage arrests of its citizens in the future.

The US and Russia were able to find common ground on the prisoner swap despite their strained relationship since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The swap was facilitated by the UAE, with President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba playing key roles in the negotiations.

Pro-Kremlin commentators have hailed the swap as a return to diplomacy, but analysts and US officials have downplayed its significance.

The exchange has not changed the dire state of relations between Russia and the West.

The prisoner swap may be seen as a calculated move by Russia to improve its international image, particularly in the global sports community, by releasing a high-profile prisoner like Brittney Griner.

The US administration's decision to prioritize Griner's release over Whelan's may be perceived as a strategic choice.

The global sports community may view Russia negatively due to its human rights record and actions in Ukraine.

Title:

Content: Payback for the war in Ukraine: what Putin ’ s Russia has already faced – what awaits the Russians in the future
NEWS All news
Payback for the war in Ukraine: what Putin ’ s Russia has already faced – what awaits Russians in the future
The Russians are paying for the Russian invasion of Ukraine today, but the worst is yet to come.
Today, 19: 30
Share the publication:
Putin ’ s Russia, which treacherously attacked a free Ukraine, is already suffering serious losses.
And this is only the beginning of the collapse that the aggressor must endure.
Political expert, diplomat Vadim Trukhan told Kommentarii about this publication in more detail.
Vladimir Putin.
Photo: from open sources
Five Consequences for Russia ’ s Invasion of Ukraine
At the moment, there are different scenarios for the end of the Great Patriotic War, which Ukraine is forced to wage against Putin ’ s Russia.
From the optimistic (Russia ’ s capitulation after a while under the pressure of terrible losses that their underarmy, which turned out to be a propaganda fad) – to a nuclear catastrophe, which can be driven into a dead end by a war criminal Putin.
However, the consequences for Russia can be predicted now.
First, economic.
Russia will need at least 20-25 years to resume normal cooperation with its previously traditional partners.
Consequently, its population is doomed to difficult times, and its business will have to shrink to the level of the DPRK.
Second, political.
Russia has lost the right to be considered a great and powerful empire.
The adoption of a new democratic constitution with a guaranteed right to secede from the federation for each of its 89 subjects is the only way to gain hope for some kind of forgiveness from the international community in some distant future.
At the same time, a large number of subjects of the current federation will certainly leave it.
Tatarstan, Chechnya, Dagestan, Bashkiria are the number one contenders.
Third, foreign policy.
Russia has lost the right to remain a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and in general to be both in the UN and in all international organizations.
The international community, after the capitulation of Russia, should have the courage to impose a sanitary moratorium for the next 25 years on the participation of Russia and / or entities formed on its territory, on membership in international organizations.
Only after the complete demilitarization and de-Sovietization of this space will the issues of introducing the successors of current Putin ’ s Russia into world life be resolved selectively and very carefully.
Fourth, legal.
An international tribunal will be set up for Russia to try war crimes committed by Putin and his henchmen.
For the venue of the trials will be chosen one of the Ukrainian cities, the most affected by the barbarism of the Rashist-Nazi hordes.
In addition, all those who were involved in the aggression, including officers and soldiers, must go through trials on the territory of Ukraine and bear a fair criminal responsibility with the subsequent loss of life to hold any state and electoral office anywhere.
Fifth, the humanitarian consequences.
Russian culture, art, sports for a long time were out of civilizational processes.
The international community will not forgive all those sorrowful singers, “artists ”, etc., who supported the maniac Putin and his terrorist state group or kept quiet like obedient sheep.
The Russians, as well as all subsequent governments of states that are formed in the current Putin empire, will repent for crimes against Ukraine
But the main and most painful consequence for the Russian bloody beast is the following.
Every citizen of Russia, regardless of nationality, as well as all subsequent governments of states that are formed in the current Putin empire, will repent for the crimes they have committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians.
This burden will be felt in dozens of generations.
Although in the future, when the Russians clean up the mess, pay Ukraine reparations and indemnities, Ukraine will develop relations with the states that are formed on the territory of the former Russian Federation.
At the same time, acting as a kind of whach-dog, designed to ensure that in this part of the globe there is no regime that wants another greatness at the expense of neighbors and peace and security in the world.
It's not an easy mission, but we're gonna have to do it.
Read on the portal “Comments ” — experts told why Putin has already embraced despair for the invasion of Ukraine.
Read Comments.ua on Google News
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to be the first to learn about the most important events!
If you find an error, please select a text fragment and press Ctrl + Enter.
Source: https: / / comments.ua /
Discussions
NEWS
Subscribe to the notifications to stay up to date with the latest news!

Russia's international reputation and relationships may take 20-25 years to recover from the consequences of its actions in Ukraine.

The country may face economic difficulties, with its business sector potentially shrinking to the level of North Korea.

The Russian team was not allowed to compete under its national flag at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to doping sanctions.

Title:

Content: February 15, Tuesday | Last update — 12: 59 | vz.ru
Sections
Sport is war
Vadim Trukhachev, political scientist, candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of RSUH
It is time to realize that sport is war.
This is one of the fields of geopolitical battles, and this has been happening for more than a decade.
Tales about “sports outside of politics ”, unfortunately, remain beautiful nonsense.
Details...
Tolkien ’ s world is destroyed not by the dark skin of actors, but by ideology.
Sergey Khudiev, publicist, theologian
The charm of the world of Middle-earth will not suffer from dark-skinned actors, but to make elves and hobbits the spokesmen of the story is vulgarity unbearable.
Details...
Discussion: 10 comments
The West wants to persuade Moscow to betray the Russians
Dmitry Yuriev, publicist
Russia has been presented, they believe, with an impossible choice between two modes of national suicide.
Either we bend, break down and leave Novorossiya.
Or we rush to the defense - and the pre-hyped flywheel of sanctions will break us anyway.
Details...
Discussion: 22 Comments
Actress Eugenia Brik has died.
Actress Eugenia Brik, the wife of director Valery Todorovsky, died at the 41st year of life.
Recently, she was seriously ill, which only loved ones knew about, and was treated in Los Angeles, her friends said.
She has a daughter, Zoe.
Details...
Figure skater Kamila Valieva won the spectators of the Beijing Olympics
At the Olympics in Beijing, Russian skaters won gold, this is the best achievement since the 2014 Games.
One of the medals was won by debutant Kamila Valieva.
However, by the age of 15, Kamila managed to become the champion of Europe and set a world record
Details...
Opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing
In Beijing, the opening ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games took place at the Bird ’ s Nest National Stadium.
The mascot of the competition was the panda Bing Dun Dun, who is familiar at the 2008 Summer Games.
The event traditionally consisted of a colorful show and a parade of athletes
Details...
19: 59
own news
Russian schoolchildren will be shown the route "Golden Ring" in the Yaroslavl region
In the Yaroslavl region within the framework of the national project "Culture" will come 1,300 schoolchildren, winners of Olympiads, students of art schools and cadet corps from all over Russia.
Visiting the cities of Pereslavl-Zalessky, Yaroslavl, Rostov is provided by the route "Golden Ring.
"Alexander Nevsky".
Details...
8: 27 PM
In Mari El opened a new building of the State Philharmonic
In Yoshkar-Ola, the grand opening of the new building of the Mari State Philharmonic named after Yakov Eshpai took place, before that the workers of the philharmonic society for 39 years were located in the annex.
Details...
9: 12 PM
In Orenburg, the legendary “Katyusha ” returned to the park“ Salute, Victory! ”
In Orenburg, the legendary BM-13 returned to the museum watch after a complete restoration, which was nicknamed “Katyusha ” by soldiers during the war.
Together with other exhibits, the combat vehicle was completely restored.
Details...
Operates with the financial support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation
Russian troops after the exercises began to return to the places of permanent deployment
Main theme
Athens will not stand up for the killed APU Greeks in the Donbass
"Union determination - 2022"
The troops of the Southern and Western military districts after the exercises began to return to the places of permanent deployment
Prohibited substance
IOC explained the ingestion of trimetazidine in the body of Valieva
LNG exports from the United States
American media called the economic cause of the crisis in Ukraine
Video
in the Kuril Ridge area
The American submarine left in Russia top-secret equipment
mass cancellation of flights
Biden has deprived Ukraine of the sky
Lost Treasures
Why Romania needs mountains of gold from Russia
Vasily Juncker
How a forgotten Russian traveler could penetrate into the heart of Africa
culinary front
How the Russians invented the “Ukrainian borsch ”
"The Inevitable Invasion"
Igor Lesev: Where Russia hid 100 thousand soldiers on the border with Ukraine
ability to survive
Farhad Ibrahimov: Iran began to defeat the United States
protection of entrepreneurs
Andrei Kolesnik: Foreign agents nightmare Russian business
in your opinion
How do you prefer to keep your savings?
Sport is war
Vadim Trukhachev
political scientist, candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of RSUH
15 February 2022, 11: 52
The fact that the current Olympics in Beijing will have a political dimension was clear from the very beginning.
Suffice it to recall that Russia was not allowed to return its flag – and the ROC team went to the Games.
For this reason, many politicized compatriots refused to watch the Olympics, saying that “ours are not there ”.
Why this happened is unnecessary to say.
It is clear that the use of doping all this epic had a very remote relationship.
No one thought to hide the big politics here.
The next step is the decision of the National Hockey League (NHL) not to send its players to Beijing.
Officially, this step was motivated by fear of coronavirus.
However, something suggests that in the event of the Olympics in the United States, Canada or Western Europe, the strongest hockey players in the world would have appeared there.
Accordingly, it looks like a desire to dilute the significance of the Olympic hockey tournament, thus putting sticks in the wheels of the Chinese organizers.
Nothing else just comes to mind.
The boycott of the opening and closing of the Games by statesmen of the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia is a link in the same chain.
Another thing is that this action looks more symbolic.
After all, in Beijing, not politicians, but athletes rule the ball.
And the Olympians from these countries came to China perfectly.
And the political boycott was not entirely successful.
Suffice it to say that the President of Poland Andrzej Duda came to China.
It is difficult to find a more pro-American politician than he is.
And we could hardly expect to be left alone in Beijing.
It was hardly a secret for the Anglo-Saxons and other of our well-wishers, as in Russia they love figure skating.
As well as the fact that two gold medals to the ROC team were almost guaranteed.
The interest was also fueled by the fact that the United States and Canada are among our main rivals here.
And if so, you have to hit this point.
And as soon as the team tournament of figure skaters was over, the “information desk doping thriller ” began with our main“ star ” Kamila Valieva.
They also beat our main “male ” hope – the skier Alexander Bolshunov.
Norwegian journalists have already launched a campaign from the series “he should not be here ”.
To the credit of Bolshunov ’ s Norwegian rivals, they did not support it.
But, unfortunately, they do not decide everything.
Attempts to adopt in the Storting (parliament) of Norway an analogue of the Rodchenkov Act may also follow.
Moreover, the Chinese did not miss containers with questionable content for Norwegian skiers and biathletes to the Games, and the Norwegians are angry at this.
The Olympics coincided with the start of an unprecedented campaign to accuse Russia of being ready to invade Ukraine.
The fact that no one ever invaded seems to have angered her initiators even more.
And they decided to beat in the usual, weakly protected place of the Russian “defense ” – sport.
The result of this story can be at least the extension of the performances of our team without a flag.
And as a maximum – suspension from the Games in Paris and Milan (most likely, this will not follow, but there will be attempts).
Why is “sport ” a weak point?
Yes, because we still have underdeveloped near-sport mechanisms to ensure victories.
Doctors do not always properly monitor lists of prohibited drugs.
Sports officials and lawyers are not too insistent on seeking therapeutic exceptions.
And in the media, Russia is almost exclusively defending itself.
We rarely start information campaigns against ill-wishers first.
Not just in sports.
It is time to realize that sport is war.
This is one of the fields of geopolitical battles, and this has been happening for more than a decade.
Tales about “sports outside of politics ”, unfortunately, remain beautiful nonsense.
And therefore, not only qualified athletes who are able to claim the highest places should go to this field.
And not just trainers.
Doctors, lawyers, managers and managers should work here.
And without specialists in propaganda and psychological warfare, too, can not do.
Sport is a very important tool of soft power.
Millions of people in the world are judged by a country not by political statements, but by its performances at the Olympics and by the success of its football team.
And the story with Valieva shows who behaves from the position of the strong, and who exclusively justifies.
In war, the presumption of innocence, the system of evidence, does not work.
There are fights without rules, and they must be able to lead.
© 2005 - 2021 Business Newspaper Vzglyad LLC
E-mail: information @ vz.ru
At the beginning of the page •
Go to main page •

The National Hockey League (NHL) decided not to send its players to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing COVID-19 concerns.

The EU has imposed sanctions on 33 individuals and entities tied to Alexei Navalny's death.

Title:

Content: Advertisment

EU Imposes Sanctions on 33 Over Alexei Navalny's Death, Targets Russian Penal Colonies, Officials

The EU imposes sanctions on 33 individuals and entities tied to Alexei Navalny's death, affirming its commitment to human rights and democracy.

Shivani Chauhan
New Update

The European Union Council announced on Friday sanctions against 33 individuals and two entities directly linked to the demise of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. This significant action underscores the EU's stern stance on human rights violations and marks a pivotal moment in international political relations with Russia.

Advertisment

Unveiling the Sanctioned Entities

The recent additions to the EU's sanctions list include the very penal colonies where Alexei Navalny was detained, as well as key figures within Russia's judicial system. Through these targeted measures, the EU aims to send a clear message against the suppression of political dissent and the mistreatment of opposition figures. The decision, rooted in a desire to uphold democratic values and human rights, reflects the EU's commitment to challenging injustices and advocating for accountability on the global stage.

Navalny's Legacy and International Response

Advertisment

Alexei Navalny's untimely death in an Arctic prison has sparked international outrage and condemnation, with many viewing it as a direct attack on political freedom and expression in Russia. Despite the Kremlin's denial of involvement, Navalny's associates, foreign leaders, and human rights advocates have called for decisive action. Navalny's demise has not only galvanized his supporters but has also intensified the scrutiny of Putin's regime, highlighting the pressing need for a unified and strategic opposition movement.

Implications for EU-Russia Relations

The imposition of sanctions by the EU represents a significant escalation in the bloc's response to human rights abuses within Russia. This move could potentially strain relations between the EU and Russia, impacting diplomatic ties and economic interactions. However, it also underscores the EU's resolve to stand against authoritarianism and to support those fighting for democracy and freedom. The long-term effects of these sanctions will depend on the international community's ability to maintain pressure on Russia and on the Kremlin's willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue and reform.

Advertisment
Advertisment

The sanctioned entities include Russian penal colonies where Alexei Navalny was detained.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to a cascading effect of boycotts, sanctions, and bans for goods, trade, travel, and sport.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) applied sanctions on Russian athletes and teams after the invasion.

The imprisonment of US basketball player Brittney Griner has added to the wartime chill driving foreign players out of Russia.

Griner's 9-year prison sentence has been seen as excessively harsh, even by Russian standards.