Russia has not responded to US offer regarding Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan release, Biden administration says

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National Security Council coordinator John Kirby says Russia has not responded to the "substantial proposal" the U.S. offered back in July regarding the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. 

Kirby told the media during Friday’s White House press briefing that the U.S. has made a "serious offer" to negotiate the return of Griner and Whelan, but added that those discussions are "still ongoing."

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, sits inside a defendant's cage during the reading of the court's verdict in Khimki, outside Moscow, on Aug. 4, 2022. (REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool)

"They have not responded to our offer. We have made a serious offer to get Brittney Griner and Paul Whalen back home," he said. "The Russians have not responded to that offer. But that doesn't mean that we're not still in negotiations."

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Kirby was pressed further over the apparent stalemate, but said if he had an answer as to why the Russians haven’t responded, "we might already have a deal." 

"I think that's a better question put to our Russian colleagues. We made a serious offer. We want them to accept it, frankly, these two individuals ought to be home anyway, period. But we understand that that's probably going to have to be the result of the negotiating process, one that we're willing to participate in honestly and fully, and we've been doing that. And we await them to take the offer that's on the table," said Kirby. 

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