Page 10 - Arms Trafficker News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

After something of a show trial with a pre-determined outcome. the basketball star had been detained in russia since february about, a week before russia invaded ukraine when vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in her luggage. now griner's hopes turn to international diplomacy. president biden released a statement today condemning russia's harsh sentence for brittney griner and reiterating his call for her release and that of another detainee paul whelan, the u.s. official tells nbc news that russia has not responded substantively to a quote serious offer that the u.s. made in j...

Some weeks ago after i interviewed dmitry peskov, the kremlin spokesperson and in that interview, i put to him that brittney griner was a hostage. he denied that she was a hostage and quickly segued to say, awe, but our viktor bout, who's in prison in america, this arms trafficker, he is a hostage. and the way that dmitry peskov put those two cases together left me in no doubt, if there was any doubt, that russia would be prepared to do some kind of prisoner swap, possibly with paul whelan, as well. but i think that you'll see them play hardball. and i think this sentence is part of that. i do...

This morning, an offer is on the table and the white house is waiting on the kremlin. i'm john berman with brianna keilar. vladimir putin has not yet responded to a proposed prisoner swap. the biden administration offered to send convicted russian arms dealer viktor bout, a man dubbed the merchant of death, in exchange for two detained americans, wnba star brittney griner and paul whelan. cnn was the first to report on this proposed prisoner exchange that president biden, we're told, personally signed off on. the justice department opposed offering the convicted arms trafficker as part of the ...

Free russian arms trafficker viktor bout in exchange for russia's release of brittney griner and paul whelan. bout's nick name is "the merchant of death." jonathan franks is a crisis management consultant who worked for the april release of trevor reed. good to see you. so, russia had detained the u.s. marine veteran for almost three years. i'm talking about trevor reed. and you were instrumental in helping to secure his release. so, now that the russians have been interested in getting bout fair very long time but then earlier today said there is no agreement for now, how do you read into tha...

>> thank you for that. stand by, i want to go back now to coach dawn staley, brittney griner's former olympic coach. the offer, which has been on the table for weeks now i understand from the secretary of state, to exchange viktor bout convicted russian arms trafficker serving 25 years in a u.s. prison as a deal to secure brittney griner and paul whelan, your reaction? >> that's the first i've heard of that. here's what we need to do. we got -- we got two americans that are over there wrongfully detained. we need to do everything in our power to get them home, and if that's the case, that's th...