Everything You Need to Know About the Bout-Griner Exchange
/ Go to the mediabankViktor Bout. File photo
/ Go to the mediabank
Oleg BurunovFor months, Washington had tried to publicize the prisoner exchange via numerous media “leaks” and public statements, something that was harshly criticized by the Russian side. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov underscored that such matters should only be resolved “in silence” rather than with the help of “megaphone diplomacy.”Viktor Bout has been freed from a US prison after nearly 15 years behind bars, in exchange for the release of American basketball player Brittney Griner from a Russian jail.The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia mediated the Bout-Griner exchange, which took place at the airport in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on December 8.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has told Sputnik that Moscow “highly appreciates” the assistance of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in the Bout-Griner exchange.“Our friends from the Emirates and Saudi Arabia are helping in such rather difficult humanitarian operations,” Bogdanov stressed.So, how did the exchange take place?
On Russian Soil
On Friday morning, the jet carrying Bout landed at Moscow’s Vnukovo-2 airport. The Russian Foreign Minister said in a statement that on December 8, 2022, the procedure for the exchange of Russian businessman Viktor Bout for US citizen Brittney Griner, “who were serving sentences in correctional institutions of the United States of America and the Russian Federation, respectively, was successfully completed at the Abu Dhabi airport.”
RussiaUS Reportedly Offers Moscow Prisoner Exchange: Russia’s Viktor Bout for Americans Griner and Whelan27 July, 18:44 GMTThis was preceded by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) releasing a video of the Bout-Griner exchange. The video showed two small groups of people, with Bout and Griner among them, diverging in different directions at the Abu Dhabi airport. Bout is then seen stepping on board a Russian plane.A separate FSB video shows the 55-year-old saying that the American side took him for an exchange right from the prison cell, and that a flight from the US to Abu Dhabi took place with a transfer for refueling in Manchester, England. In another FSB clip, Bout is seen talking to his mother on a cell phone and telling her that he was doing just fine.
‘Wonderful Moment’
Bout’s lawyer Alexey Tarasov called his release “a wonderful moment” both for the businessman and his family.”It is a one-for-one exchange. In other words it is only Viktor who was exchanged for Griner. It is different from what the US initially thought, which was a two-for-one exchange,” Tarasov added.Asked about Bout’s health condition, the lawyer noted that it would be evaluated by doctors in Russia.
Protracted US-Russian Talks
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, stressed that despite lengthy Russia-US negotiations, “Washington categorically refused” to engage in a dialogue on including Bout in the exchange scheme.According to the ministry, “nevertheless, the Russian Federation continued to actively work to rescue our compatriot.””As a result of the efforts made, it was possible to agree with the US side on organizing the exchange of Bout for Griner. The Russian citizen was returned to his homeland,” the ministry pointed out.
Who Negotiated the Bout-Griner Exchange?
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that it was the FSB who negotiated the exchange of Bout for Griner and achieved results.“As for the exchanges, these issues were managed by the FSB in this case. The FSB preliminarily negotiated and achieved the results that you know about [the exchange of Bout for Griner]. Contacts continue, they have never stopped between the intelligence services,” Putin underlined.He made it clear that other prisoner exchanges may take place in the future.”Anything is possible. This is the result of negotiations and the search for compromises, in this case compromises were found. We do not refuse to continue this work in the future,” Putin said.
Who is Bout?
Bout was detained in 2008 in Thailand on terrorism charges at Washington’s behest, with the US accusing him of smuggling weapons. According to US authorities, Bout supplied weapons to multiple armed groups worldwide.
WorldUS Election Unlikely to Spur Prisoner Swap for Whelan, Russian Inmate Viktor Bout Says26 October 2020, 07:17 GMTDespite protests from Russia, which called the move illegal, the 55-year-old was later extradited to the US, where an American court in 2012 sentenced him to 25 years in prison on charges of weapons trafficking and other crimes.Bout strongly denied the charges, with Moscow also maintaining his innocence and calling Bout’s arrest a “kidnapping” of a foreign national by Washington.
Who is Griner?
WNBA player Brittney Griner was arrested in Moscow in February 2022, when customs officers in the Sheremetyevo airport found two electronic vaporizers filled with cannabis oil in her luggage.Griner claimed that she was aware that possession of drugs was banned in Russia, insisting that she did not intend to break the Russian law.The 32-year-old was sentenced to nine years in prison and a fine of one million rubles (approximately $16,500) in August.
WH Bashed Over Bout-Griner Exchange
The Biden administration has, meanwhile, faced flak over the Bout-Griner exchange, with critics, including Republicans in Congress, saying that Washington should have demanded that Paul Whelan, the ex-US Marine jailed in Russia on espionage charges, also be freed as a condition of the deal.”While I welcome the release of Brittney Griner, I cannot help but think about Paul Whelan – as he has apparently been abandoned by the Biden administration,” Mike Rogers, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, tweeted.He was echoed by Republican Senator Rick Scott, who argued in a tweet that “for Biden to give [Russian President Vladimir] Putin a dangerous arms dealer – someone known as the ‘Merchant of Death’ – is weak & disgusting.”“Doing so while leaving Paul behind is unforgivable,” Scott added.Whelan himself told a US media outlet that he was disappointed that efforts had not been made to secure his freedom, adding, “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
