President Biden Hopes Putin Will Be Willing 'to Talk More Seriously' About Brittney Griner's Release

Mar. 15, 2025

PresidentJoe Bidenis hopeful that negotiations with Russia will lead to the release of WNBA starBrittney Griner.“My hope is that now that the [midterm] election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Bidensaid at a news conferenceWednesday afternoon.He continued, “That is my intention. My intention is to get her home. And we’ve had a number of discussions so far. And I’m hopeful that, now that our election is over, there is a willingness to … to negotiate more specifically with us.“Biden also said he has been “spending a fair amount of time” “engaging with” Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner.“I’m telling you, I am determined to get her home, and get her home safely — along with others, I might add,” Biden said of the Phoenix Mercury center.Chip Somodevilla/Getty; KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty; SERGEI GUNEYEV/Sputnik/AFP via GettyBiden’s statement came on the same day Griner’s attorneys confirmed to PEOPLE thatthe athlete had been moved to an unknown Russian penal colony.“We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination,” Griner’s attorneys Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said in a statement.The statement continued, “In accordance with the standard Russian procedure, the attorneys, as well as the U.S. Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination. Notification is given via official mail and normally takes up to two weeks to be received.“Negotiations have been ongoing for months between the U.S. and Russia, with little signs of progress. The U.S. is also trying to negotiate the release of another jailed American, Paul Whelan.Griner has been held in Russian custody since February, after being detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on “drug smuggling charges.“In August, she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony; in October, a Russian court denied her attorneys' appeal.Cherelle T. Griner/InstagramWith her move to the penal colony this week,human rights advocatesand Griner’s loved ones are increasingly concerned about her welfare.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Cherelle toldCBS Mornings’Gayle Kinglast month that the events have been playing out “like a movie” to her.“I’m like, in no world did I ever thought, you know, our president and a foreign nation’s president would be sitting down having to discuss the freedom of my wife,“Cherelle expressed to King. “And so to me, as much as everybody’s telling me a different definition of what BG is, it feels to me as if she’s a hostage.““It terrifies me, because when you watch movies, sometimes those situations don’t end well,” Cherelle added. “Sometimes they never get their person back.”

PresidentJoe Bidenis hopeful that negotiations with Russia will lead to the release of WNBA starBrittney Griner.

“My hope is that now that the [midterm] election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Bidensaid at a news conferenceWednesday afternoon.

He continued, “That is my intention. My intention is to get her home. And we’ve had a number of discussions so far. And I’m hopeful that, now that our election is over, there is a willingness to … to negotiate more specifically with us.”

Biden also said he has been “spending a fair amount of time” “engaging with” Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner.

“I’m telling you, I am determined to get her home, and get her home safely — along with others, I might add,” Biden said of the Phoenix Mercury center.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty; KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty; SERGEI GUNEYEV/Sputnik/AFP via Getty

Biden’s statement came on the same day Griner’s attorneys confirmed to PEOPLE thatthe athlete had been moved to an unknown Russian penal colony.

“We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination,” Griner’s attorneys Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said in a statement.

The statement continued, “In accordance with the standard Russian procedure, the attorneys, as well as the U.S. Embassy, should be notified upon her arrival at her destination. Notification is given via official mail and normally takes up to two weeks to be received.”

Negotiations have been ongoing for months between the U.S. and Russia, with little signs of progress. The U.S. is also trying to negotiate the release of another jailed American, Paul Whelan.

Griner has been held in Russian custody since February, after being detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on “drug smuggling charges.”

In August, she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony; in October, a Russian court denied her attorneys' appeal.

Cherelle T. Griner/Instagram

With her move to the penal colony this week,human rights advocatesand Griner’s loved ones are increasingly concerned about her welfare.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Cherelle toldCBS Mornings’Gayle Kinglast month that the events have been playing out “like a movie” to her.

“I’m like, in no world did I ever thought, you know, our president and a foreign nation’s president would be sitting down having to discuss the freedom of my wife,“Cherelle expressed to King. “And so to me, as much as everybody’s telling me a different definition of what BG is, it feels to me as if she’s a hostage.”

“It terrifies me, because when you watch movies, sometimes those situations don’t end well,” Cherelle added. “Sometimes they never get their person back.”

source: people.com