The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the exchange of American basketball player Brittney Griner for Russian Viktor Bout

Thursday, December 8, an exchange of an American basketball player took place in the United Arab Emirates Britney Greiner Russian Viktor Bout, reports the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

— On December 8, 2022, at Abu Dhabi airport, the procedure for exchanging a Russian citizen Viktor Bout for an American citizen Brittney Griner, who was serving a sentence in penal institutions of the United States of America and of the Russian Federation, respectively, has been successfully completed.

For a long time, the Russian Federation has been negotiating with the United States on the release of VA Bout. Washington categorically refused dialogue on the Russian’s inclusion in the exchange scheme. Nevertheless, the Russian Federation continued to work actively to save our compatriot.

Thanks to the efforts made, it was possible to agree with the American side on the organization of the exchange of VA Bout for B. Greiner. A Russian citizen has been sent back to his country of origin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Greiner was arrested in February while attempting to smuggle hash oil through Sheremetyevo airport. On August 4, the Khimki City Court sentenced an American woman to 9 years in a penal colony in a drug trafficking case. In October, the Moscow Regional Court upheld the verdict. In addition to the prison term, the basketball player was punished with a fine of 1 million rubles. The 32-year-old athlete was serving his sentence in penal colony No. 2 in the village of Yavas.

The basketball player, who has been playing for UMMC Yekaterinburg since 2015, twice won the Olympic Games as part of the American team (2016, 2020), took part in WNBA All-Star games seven times.