Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised Russia‘s latest Ukraine land-grab efforts and Moscow’s promise to break its wheat and grain blockade during his phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, according to the White House.
While the crux of their conversation concentrated on the administration’s “substantial” prisoner swap proposal to secure the freedoms of detained WNBA player Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre broached the other topics during her Friday briefing.
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“He spoke about the importance of Russia allowing ships to depart Odesa and to adhere to their grain deals,” she told reporters. “He also emphasized Russia’s plan to annex parts of Ukraine by force, which we warned, from here at the podium, would be a violation of the U.N. Charter, and we would not allow it to go unchallenged.”
Jean-Pierre repeated Griner and Whelan’s cases were a presidential “priority,” in addition to other “U.S. nationals, who are being wrongfully held or held hostage.”
“You heard from the secretary yourself,” she said of Blinken. “He was very clear, as I just laid out the three things that came up during that conversation. He also said he is not delusional, and we expect conversations and negotiations to continue.”
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The White House and the State Department have declined to confirm reports that officials have offered to transfer convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner and Whelan.
