WH denies Saudi Arabia, UAE mediation in Griner's release
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The White House statement comes after Saudi Arabia and UAE issued a joint statement hailing the success of their mediation in the prisoner exchange deal between Washington and Moscow.
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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
The White House denied on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had any involvement with the release of basketball celebrity Brittney Griner, contradicting a joint statement issued earlier by the president of the UAE and the Saudi Crown Prince that they led mediation efforts to secure Griner's release.
"The only countries that negotiated this deal were the US and Russia," White House Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about Saudi Arabia's role. "There was no mediation involved."
Earlier today, it was reported that Griner was swapped for Russian Businessman Viktor Bout who was serving a 25-year sentence in the US over alleged arms dealings.
The exchange took place in the UAE at Abu Dhabi airport, a US official said.
Russian state media release footage of the Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout prisoner swap: https://t.co/TuMxKvMmmI pic.twitter.com/xVgtQjrGbf
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 8, 2022
"We are grateful for the UAE ... for facilitating the use of their territory for the exchange to take place,” Jean-Pierre said. “We are also grateful to other countries including Saudi Arabia” that raised the issue of detained Americans with the Russian government, she continued.
While UAE/Saudi Arabia issued a joint statement aggrandizing their “mediation” role in the release of Brittney Griner, @POTUS and @SecBlinken thanked UAE only for its limited role in assisting in the “transfer”. pic.twitter.com/MXb1dVkRW7
— Khalid Aljabri, MD د.خالد الجبري (@JabriMD) December 8, 2022
Griner, who played for Russian side Yekaterinburg during the WNBA off-season, was arrested on February 17 in Moscow after cannabis-infused vape cartridges were found in her luggage.
Since Cannabis oil is illegal in Russia, Griner was convicted of drug possession and trafficking. She was sentenced on August 4 to nine years behind bars and a fine of 1 million rubles ($16,576) after she pleaded guilty to the charges.
