Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s surprise announcement last July lacked any detail, but its meaning was crystal clear. The message was plain, for those closely following the cases.
On Thursday, Bout and Griner began their journeys home after a dramatic one-for-one swap. The deal wasn’t all that U.S. officials had wanted.
But after months of difficult private negotiations and angry public accusations, it was, they concluded, the best they could get.
“This was not a choice for us on which American to bring home. It was a choice between bringing home one American or none,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“For totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s, and while we have not succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up,” Biden said Thursday.
For weeks, the focus seemed to center on legal aspects of the case and questions of her guilt or innocence.
“We think that he is a good candidate, remains a good candidate,” said one of Vinnik’s lawyers, David Rizk.
“He’s somebody that both sides have a lot of interest in, and he’s also somebody who hasn’t killed anybody. He hasn’t committed any violent crime.”
A senior administration official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Thursday that the U.S. “explored ...
...a wide range of alternatives and permutations that we felt were, frankly, quite generous in resolving both cases.” The official did not elaborate.
As U.S. officials talked directly with Russian counterparts, Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and top ...
...deputy Mickey Bergman held backchannel discussions in Russia and other countries with their own contacts to try to find middle ground.
“We were aiming, working together, for a two-for-two but I think the geopolitical situation prevented us from doing the two-for-two ...
...— in other words, the increasingly hostile relationship” between the countries, Richardson said in an interview.
But the reality, administration officials now say, is that Russia viewed Whelan’s case differently, with one official saying Moscow “put him through sham proceedings ...
...that convicted him of trumped-up espionage charges.” Russia, the official said, had “rejected each and every one of our proposals for his release.”
Brittney Griner was put through to the Oval Office and Biden said, “It’s Joe Biden. Welcome, welcome home!” one official said of the conversation.
In anticipation of the transfer, Griner was relocated from the Russian penal colony where she arrived last month and was flown to the United Arab Emirates for the transfer.
Arriving there, too, was Bout, who was not presented with his official clemency paperwork until U.S. officials knew Griner was also present.
The final outcome was less joyful for the Whelan family, though they said they supported the administration’s action.
“To realize now that not only didn’t it include him, but also that there may not be any other things that the U.S. currently has ...
...control over that could bring Paul home — that’s a new thing to be thinking about,” brother David Whelan said in an interview.
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Aamer Madhani and Colleen Long in Washington and Kathleen Foody in Chicago contributed to this report.