US Still Talking to Russia About Release of Griner, Whelan: Diplomat

U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner stands inside a defendants' cage during the reading of the court's verdict in Khimki, Russia, outside Moscow, on Aug. 4, 2022. Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/Reuters

LONDON—The United States is still talking to Russia about a deal to free jailed Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, although Moscow hasn’t provided a “serious response” to any of its proposals, a senior U.S. diplomat said in comments published on Nov. 28.

Elizabeth Rood, the U.S. chargée d'affaires in Moscow, told Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency that talks are continuing through the “designated channel.”