Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine at the end of last February, relations between Russia and the West, in particular the United States, have deteriorated significantly and rapidly. Between the economic sanctions against Moscow, the thinly veiled nuclear threats from the Kremlin and the invective between the leaders, there is a smell of Cold War between two blocs that seem increasingly irreconcilable. “The Iron Curtain, in fact, is already falling,” warned the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov.
Priority for Biden
Despite the situation in disagreement, the two countries could, according to CNN, reach an agreement through an exchange of emblematic prisoners in the hands of Moscow and Washington. In their columns, the American media describe the terms of the agreement proposed by the Biden administration itself, and that seems straight out of a spy novel.
It is about exchanging Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, two prisoners detained in Russia, for Viktor Bout, one of the most powerful arms dealers of the last century, sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the situation of the two detainees imprisoned in Russia is worrying. On the one hand, Brittney Griner, a famous basketball player detained since February and her arrest at the Moscow airport after the discovery of cannabis oil in her hand luggage. On the other, Paul Whelan, officially accused of “espionage” by the Russian justice system.
no russian reply
However, the terms of this exchange remain unclear. Also according to CNN, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that his administration had sent Moscow a “substantial proposal” for the release of his two compatriots, without going into more detail or confirming Bout’s presence at the negotiating table. .
According to him, US President Joe Biden, directly involved in the process, would have made the decision against the advice of the Ministry of Justice, generally opposed to the prisoner exchange. There is no doubt that the subject will be discussed in particular during the conversation that the latter will soon have with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. For the first time since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, the two men have planned to speak officially.
For the moment, the proposal remains a dead letter from Russia and, despite several reminders from the US, it has not followed up on this proposal. “It takes two to tango,” even ironically a senior Biden administration official, still with CNN. This Thursday, Russian diplomacy confirmed that, for the time being, there was “not yet” an agreement between the two countries.
Of all the conflicts
On many occasions, Moscow has expressed its desire to see Viktor Bout return to its territory. The USSR is at the forefront of a well-filled curriculum.
At the fall of the communist bloc, the latter managed to buy many stocks of Soviet weapons at low cost, in particular AK-47 machine guns, which it will sell to the four corners of the world and deliver through airlines that it also owns. In the 1990s, Bout was part of every war, conflict and armed revolution in Africa and Asia, from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan, and at times did not hesitate to sell his weapons to two opposing sides.
At the head of a colossal fortune, the nicknamed “the merchant of death” is persecuted for years and forced to change countries to escape justice. In 2008, he was finally arrested by the US DEA in Bangkok, Thailand, suspected of wanting to sell missiles to the Colombian FARC. Extradited to the United States against Russian advice, which demands his release, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined 15 million euros.
Iconic figure of organized crime, Viktor Bout also inspired Hollywood as the character of Nicolas Cage in the movie Lord of War is taken directly from his story. In 2021, his mother, in an interview with the Ria Novosti agency, also called for his release. “I’m almost 85 years old, and if he still has to serve the other half of his prison sentence in the United States, I won’t be here,” she said.
Political objective for Biden
If the swap is finally accepted, it would not be the first time that an operation of this type has taken place between Russia and the United States. Last April, Moscow had agreed to exchange former Marine Trevor Reed, sentenced to nine years in prison for violence against Russian police officers, for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who was then serving a 20-year prison sentence for cocaine trafficking. The operation was then well received by the Democratic camp, but also by that of his Republican opponents.
The release of Griner and Whelan would be a serious political blow to Joe Biden, who is struggling in the polls and with public opinion, and as the mid-term elections across the Atlantic approach.
It’s just that Moscow doesn’t seem determined to budge. In early July, Russian diplomacy denounced a “public exaggeration” by US leaders about the case of the basketball player who faces up to 10 years in prison.
Source: BFM TV
