This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Veteran U.S. hostage negotiator Bill Richardson could travel to Russia to seek the release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, U.S. and Russian media are reporting.
The office of the former governor and ambassador on July 11 said the families of Griner and Whelan had asked Richardson to become involved in the matter, which has raised already high tensions between Washington and Moscow.
“What I can say is that both the Whelan and Griner families have asked us to help with the release of their loved ones,” Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, said when asked whether Richardson would travel to Russia.
Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico and UN ambassador, has been involved in similar cases since the 1990s, when he negotiated the release of U.S. citizens imprisoned in countries such as North Korea and Burma.
He has held talks with Russian officials over the past two years for the release of another American, former Marine Trevor Reed.
The 74-year-old Richardson acts as a private citizen in such matters, but his involvement usually has the tacit approval of the U.S. government.
Griner, 31, pleaded guilty to drug-possession and smuggling charges in a Russian court and faces up to 10 years in prison on the charges.
She was arrested earlier this year after Russian authorities said they found cannabis oil in vape cartridges in her luggage when she passed through Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. She was returning to play for a Russian team in the off-season of the U.S. Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
She said she accidentally brought the cannabis oil when she quickly packed to travel to Russia and requested leniency from the court.
Whelan is a former U.S. Marine and private security consultant who was detained in December 2018, accused of espionage.
He denied the charges but was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020.
Russia has signaled repeatedly its interest in exchanging detained U.S. citizens for Russians held in U.S. prisons
