G20 run-in: Blinken sees Russia’s Lavrov in India for first time since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
Secretary of State Antony Blinken ran into his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 summit in their first in-person encounter since President Putin launched his invasion on Ukraine.
foxnews.comBlinken, Lavrov meet briefly as US-Russia tensions soar
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talked briefly Thursday at a meeting of top diplomats from the Group of 20 nations in the first high-level meeting in months between the two countries. U.S. officials said Blinken and Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G-20 conference in New Delhi. The short encounter came as relations between Washington and Moscow have plummeted while tensions over Russia’s war with Ukraine have soared.
news.yahoo.comWhy Russia wants to trade the convicted assassin Vadim Krasikov in prisoner swaps
Just before midday on Aug. 23, 2019, Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili headed to a local mosque through Kleiner Tiergarten, a park in central Berlin, to attend Friday prayers. He never made it. A Georgian national of ethnic Chechen descent, Khangoshvili was fatally shot three times, once in the shoulder, twice in the head.
news.yahoo.comWhy Russia wants to trade a convicted assassin, Vadim Krasikov, in prisoner swaps
Just before midday on Aug. 23, 2019, Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili headed to a local mosque through Kleiner Tiergarten, a park in central Berlin, to attend Friday prayers. He never made it. A Georgian national of ethnic Chechen descent, Khangoshvili was fatally shot three times, once in the shoulder, twice in the head.
news.yahoo.comTrump says he turned down deal to release Paul Whelan
Former President Trump on Sunday said he turned down a deal to release former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who’s been detained by Moscow since 2018, in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout during his time in the White House. “I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the…
news.yahoo.comPaul Whelan’s brother slams Trump after prisoner swap criticism
The brother of former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia for nearly four years, slammed former President Trump on Friday after Trump criticized the Biden administration for the deal it struck to free WNBA star Brittney Griner but not Whelan. David Whelan said in a post on Twitter that Trump seems to…
news.yahoo.comPaul Whelan 'greatly disappointed' Biden administration has not done more to free him
The detained American told CNN he is happy that the White House was able to secure Brittney Griner’s release from Russia in a prisoner swap but is "greatly disappointed" that it hasn't been able to secure his.
news.yahoo.comGriner for Bout: WNBA star freed in US-Russia prisoner swap
Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, American officials said. The swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden, but carried a heavy price — and left behind an American jailed for nearly four years in Russia. The deal, the second such exchange in eight months with Russia, procured the release of the most prominent American detained abroad.
news.yahoo.comVenezuela swaps 7 jailed Americans for Maduro relatives
Venezuela’s government has freed seven Americans imprisoned in the South American country in exchange for the release of two nephews of President Nicolás Maduro’s wife who had been jailed for years by the United States on drug smuggling convictions.
Veteran emissary Richardson hopeful for Griner, Whelan swap
Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in hostage negotiations, says he's hopeful about the chances of a two-for-two prisoner swap that could result in the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan.
WNBA's Griner tells drug trial: 'My career is my whole life'
WNBA star Brittney Griner testified at her drug possession trial in Russia that an interpreter translated only a fraction of what was said during questioning when she was detained at Moscow’s airport in February and officials told her to sign documents without giving an explanation.
WNBA's Griner gets support at trial from character witnesses
The drug possession trial of WNBA star Brittney Griner has resumed, with the head of the Russian club she plays for in the offseason and a teammate from that squad testifying in support of her character and what she has meant for women’s basketball in the country.
American detained in Russia sends letter to President Biden pleading for his help
Brittney Griner’s appeal to President Joe Biden in a handwritten letter continued to garner reaction Tuesday after the WNBA All-Star acknowledged she feared never returning home and asked Biden not “forget about me and the other American Detainees.”.