Russia open to more prisoner exchanges with United States, says Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that his government is in favour ofmore prisoner swaps with the United States. The comments were made in the aftermath of a high-profile prisoner exchange between the two countries featuring American basketball star Brittney Griner and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Putin also said that the contacts between the intelligence agencies of both countries will continue and if the terms are agreed, they can have more of such exchanges.

At a news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Putin was asked about future prisoner swaps and he replied, “Yes, anything is possible. Contacts continue. In fact, they have never stopped.”

“A compromise was found, we do not reject continuing this work in the future,” he added.

Griner was detained by the Russian authorities at the Moscow airport for carrying vape cartridges and cannabis oil in her luggage. On Friday, she was taken to Abu Dhabi where the exchange happened and afterwards, the basketball star flew home and landed at San Antonio, Texas.

While Griner’s return was hailed by the US, Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan continued to serve his sentence in prison after he was convicted of espionage by a Russian court back in 2020.

When asked about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Putin said that the war can only end after an agreement between the two sides but insisted that Russia is open to discussions.

"Trust, of course, is almost at zero... but ultimately, in the end, an agreement will have to be reached. I have said many times that we are ready for these agreements, and we are open" to them.”