Peskov: Bout exchange is not a sign of improving relations between the Russian Federation and the United States
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It would be wrong to conclude that the exchange of American basketball player Brittney Griner for Russian businessman Viktor Bout is a step towards overcoming the crisis between Russia and the United States. About it declared Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov in a commentary to Izvestia.
“Negotiations dealt exclusively with the topic of exchange. It is wrong to draw any hypothetical conclusions that this could be a step towards a way out of the crisis that we have in bilateral relations,” he said.
These relations continue to remain in a sad state, Peskov stressed, adding that the preparations for the exchange were carried out by the special services of Russia and the United States.
The exchange of Booth for Greiner took place yesterday, December 8, at the airport in Abu Dhabi. Before the exchange, Greiner and Booth were pardoned, they will not have to serve their sentences in their countries. Bout, after returning to Russia, expressed gratitude to the American side for the noble and respectful attitude during the exchange. By words his wife Alla, Booth now feels terribly and is very exhausted, because he had not slept for three days before.
Bout was arrested in 2008 in Thailand at the request of Washington, he was charged with illegal arms trafficking and supporting terrorism. Bout spent 2.5 years in prison in Thailand, and then he was extradited to the United States, and in 2012 the court sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The Russian categorically did not admit his guilt.
The basketball player, two-time Olympic champion Greiner was detained in February 2022 at the Sheremetyevo airport after vape cartridges with hashish oil were found in her hand luggage. A criminal case was initiated under the article on drug smuggling, the Khimki court sentenced Greiner to nine years in a strict regime colony and a fine of 1 million rubles. In court, an American woman said that she used marijuana in the United States with the permission of doctors instead of an analgesic.
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