Russian Arms Dealer Swapped For Brittney Griner

Brittney Griner, an incarcerated American basketball player, and Viktor Bout, a renowned arms dealer who spent 12 years in an American prison, have been traded by the US and Russia. President Joe Biden said Griner was safe and on a plane home from the United Arab Emirates. "I'm glad to say Brittney's in good spirits... she needs time and space to recover," he said at the White House.

Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing cannabis oil and last month sent to a penal colony.Knowing that Moscow had been requesting Bout's release for a while, the Biden administration suggested a prisoner exchange last July.

The swap was acknowledged by Russia's foreign ministry, which noted that Abu Dhabi Airport was the location. He was not yet believed to have set foot on Russian soil, but the statement claimed that "the Russian citizen has been repatriated to his homeland."

He was reportedly still being transported by air to the airport in Moscow's vicinity known as Vnukovo.

The wife of Griner thanked the Biden administration for working to secure her release while speaking in the Oval Office, saying, "I'm just standing here overcome with emotions."

Bout's release was authorized by President Biden as part of the prisoner swap, commuting his 25-year sentence.Viktor Bout became one of the most sought persons in the world after providing weapons to warlords and unsavory governments.

The 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War, which was largely based on his life, was inspired by the activities of the Russian, who was known as the "merchant of death" for smuggling guns in the years following the fall of the Soviet Union.

An intricate US sting operation that year resulted in his arrest at a hotel in Thailand's capital city of Bangkok, angering the Russian government, put an end to his clandestine career.After being sent to the United States two years later, he has been imprisoned there for the past 12 years for planning to support terrorists and kill Americans.

Bout’s case is however completely different compared to that of Brittney who is a well-known American basketball player thus making the swap uneven.According to Brittney, the cannabis oil found in her possession was “an honest mistake”

The US made it plain that it wanted former marine Paul Whelan to be released as well as talks to obtain Griner's release started in the summer. Whelan, however, was not included in the prisoner exchange because he was charged with spying by Russia.

President Biden asserted during a speech in the Oval Office that Russia was treating his case differently than Griner's for wholly improper reasons. “While we haven't yet been able to secure Paul's release,” he swore, "We haven't given up; we won't give up."The potential of being unjustly jailed by a foreign government was highlighted by President Biden, who urged Americans to exercise prudence before traveling abroad.