Russia Counters, Requests Release of Convicted Murderer as well in Exchange for Brittney Griner

Russia has made a counteroffer to the United States’s proposal to exchange Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan for the “merchant of death”, arms dealer Viktor Bout. Russia has counteroffered by adding a request of the release of Vadim Krasikov, a convicted murderer.

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Krasikov was convicted in 2021 of murdering a Chechen fighter in broad daylight in Berlin. Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison by a German court.

Founder of the National Security Institute, Jamil Jaffer, believes this move is Russia flexing its leverage and possibly looking for a middle ground.

“This effort to get Krasikov might be a counteroffer designed to get a middle ground,” Jaffer said. “The Russians had also been asking earlier for a hacker named Roman Seleznev, he’s the son of a member of the Russian parliament, he’s got a 27-year sentence in U.S. prison for engaging in bank fraud, credit card fraud.”

Jaffer doesn’t see the swap being an “even swap” as the Russians know the pressure that is being put on the Biden administration over the release of Griner.

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“I think getting Viktor Bout out for Griner and Whelan is ultimately a coup for the Russians,” Jaffer shared. “The Biden administration is in a tough position I have sympathy for them on this because there is a need to get Griner and Whelan back.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been in communication with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The pair had what Blinken called, “a frank and direct conversation” that focused on the detained Americans on Friday.

Blinken said after the conversation with Lavrov, “I urged Foreign Minister Lavrov to move forward with that proposal. I can’t give you an assessment of whether that is any more or less likely”

It seems that Russia has assessed that they were being shortchanged in their view, with the original offer from the United States.

We reported earlier on the executive order Biden signed which gave his administration more power to sanction individuals involved in the “wrongful detainment” of Americans.

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It doesn’t look like Griner will be coming home very soon as Russia is going to push for everything they can get.