Griner was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for bringing less than a gram of cannabis oil into the country, which is illegal in Russia. She has been in jail since she was arrested on February 17th.
Last week, a Russian court rejected Griner’s appeal against his prison sentence.
Jean-Pierre said on Thursday that Russia received a “significant offer” from the United States to “resolve the current unacceptable and unjust detentions” of former US Marines Griner and Paul Whelan, also imprisoned in Russia. He said he continues to refuse. Just last month, Jean-Pierre told reporters that Russia had yet to respond to a “serious” offer made by the Biden administration to free Griner in July.
“Despite the lack of good faith negotiations by Russia, the U.S. government continues to follow up on that offer and proposes alternative potential ways of moving forward with Russia through all available channels,” said Jan. Pierre said Thursday. “This remains our top priority.”
However, Jean-Pierre did not provide details about the alternatives offered to Russia.
In a tweet Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said U.S. Embassy representatives who met with Griner “saw firsthand her tenacity and perseverance despite her current circumstances.” said.
“We continue to call for the immediate release of Britney Griner and Paul Whelan and for fair treatment of all detained Americans,” Price said.
A spokesperson for the Griner family did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the embassy official’s visit.
The US government has long viewed Griner’s arrest as “unjustified detention.”
After a Russian court dismissed her appeal last week, Griner’s lawyers She intends to discuss the possibility of further appeals with her client and use “all available legal tools”.
Griner, the 6-foot-9-inch center for WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and two-time Olympic gold medalist, plans to enter Russia in February at Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow, where he will play during the WNBA’s offseason. was restrained when She turned 32 last month while in her prison, and her family and friends have called for her release and her safe return to the United States.
In August, Russia acknowledged for the first time that negotiations were underway for the release of Griner and Whelan, but the exchange of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. It did not confirm media reports suggesting a possibility.
The Griner and Whelan families met with President Biden at the White House in September to discuss the imprisonment of relatives. He said he would “never give up” on his efforts to free him.
“I want these two to go back to where they are with their families,” Kirby said.
Maite Fernández Simon and Mary Ilyushina contributed to this report.
