In the midst of the war, the United States will begin negotiations with Russia for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner

The U.S. State Department confirmed Tuesday that the basketball player has been “identified” Brittney Grinera two -time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star champion, has been “wrongly imprisoned” in Russia since February, marking the hardening of the tone from previous statements in the case.

“The State Department has decided that the Russian Federation has wrongly detained to U.S. citizen Brittney Griner, ”a State Department spokeswoman, who requested anonymity, assured in speaking to the EFE news agency.

So, this recognition suggests that the U.S. government actively negotiate the return of the 31-year-old athleteinstead of waiting for their case to progress through Russia’s court system.

Also, the official indicated that the United States “will continue to offer appropriate support to Griner and his family.”

Griner, who like other American players took advantage of months without WNBA competition to play in Russia, where the salary is four times higher than the maximum that can be received by agreement with the United States , was arrested in February in a Russian. airport and is accused of carrying cartridges with hashish oil in his luggagederived from cannabis, for vaping on electronic cigarettes.

According to the prestigious newspaper New York TimesKremlin authorities have opened a case for “large -scale drug transportation”, which could represent a sentence of up to ten years in prison.

Griner’s arrest was estimated on Feb. 17, although it was only discovered on March 5, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Exactly, due to the intensification of diplomatic relations between the United States and the government of Vladimir Putin, the country did not immediately intervene in North America in the case.

Collin Allred, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, detailed: “I know the administration is trying to talk to him and help. But it happened in a tense relationship context“.

“We know Brittney Griner’s situation in Russia and we maintain close communication with him, his legal representation in Russia, his family, his teams, the WNBA and the NBA, ” said his representative, Lindsay Kagawa Tails.

He added: “Since this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot comment further on the details of his case, but we can confirm that as we work to bring him back home, Our main concern is your mental and physical health“.

For its part, the Russian agency TASS announced at the end of March that a court in Moscow had Griner’s arrest was extended until May 19one of the most dominant centers in the WNBA and a double gold medalist on the US team.

However, a recent State Department statement suggests that negotiations between the two Countries will begin in the short term, or at least that is the intention from Washington.

With information from EFE

DB