大象传媒

The US has made a "substantial offer" to bring two American detainees home from Russia, its top diplomat has said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would raise the issue in a call with Russia's foreign minister next week.

Reports in US media suggest Moscow is interested in exchanging basketball star Brittney Griner for convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed talks were ongoing but insisted no agreement had been reached.

Mr Peskov told the 大象传媒's Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg that he had been surprised to hear of the reports and said he would not comment until after any agreement was done.

Despite Mr Blinken's claims that he will speak with Mr Lavrov, a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson told the state owned Tass news agency that they were not aware of any scheduled call.

Mr Blinken and Sergei Lavrov have not spoken since the war in Ukraine began.

Both the White House and the Department of State declined on Wednesday to disclose details of the proposed deal.

According to CNN, the US hopes to trade Bout for Ms Griner and fellow American Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage in 2020.

The New York Times reports that the US last month offered Russia to swap Bout for Ms Griner and Whelan, and that President Joe Biden had approved the offer.

So what do we know about Viktor Bout? Newsday have been speaking to former 大象传媒 Russia editor Andrei Ostalski.

Photo shows: Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout speaks to the press from behind his cell bars of the criminal court detention centre in Bangkok on April 9, 2008. Credit: Getty Images

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