Russian Foreign Minister open to discussing U.S. prisoner swap offer involving Brittney Griner

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that he is open to a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss a possible prisoner swap involving American basketball star Brittney Griner.

Blinken said Wednesday that Washington had offered Russia a deal that would bring home Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan. According to multiple reports, the U.S. government has proposed trading convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Whelan and Griner.

Speaking on a visit to Uzbekistan, Lavrov said his ministry had received an official U.S. request for a call after Blinken made the statement. Russia's top diplomat said he would be ready once he returns to Moscow and that the timing of the call was being worked out.

Lavrov said he was open to discussing the prisoner exchange, even though the Foreign Ministry hasn't been involved in previous discussions on the issue.

«I will listen to what he has to say,» Lavrov added.

Asked Thursday about the U.S. offer, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said prisoner swaps were typically negotiated discreetly behind the scenes.

«We know that such issues are discussed without any such release of information,» Peskov told reporters during a conference call. «Normally, the public learns about it when the agreements are already implemented.»

Blinken's comments marked the first time the U.S. government publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure Griner's release. The Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested at a Moscow airport in mid-February when inspectors found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage.

Griner's arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of Russia