Britney Griner’s flight from Russia to US: ‘I want to talk’

WASHINGTON — WNBA star Brittney Griner didn’t want any alone time as quickly as she boarded a U.S. authorities aircraft that may carry her dwelling.

“I have been in prison for 10 months now, listening to Russian. I want to talk,” Griner mentioned, in accordance to Roger Carstens, the particular presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who helped safe the basketball star’s launch and produce her again to the U.S. final week.

She then requested Carstens, referring to others on the aircraft: “But, initially, who’re these guys?”

“And she moved right past me and went to every member on that crew, looked them in the eyes, shook their hands and asked about them, got their names, making a personal connection with them.,” Carstens recalled. “It was really amazing.”

Ultimately, Griner spent about 12 hours of an 18-hour flight speaking with others on the aircraft, Carstens mentioned. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury professional basketball star spoke about her time within the Russian penal colony and her months in captivity, Carstens recalled, though he declined to go into particular particulars.

“I was left with the impression this is an intelligent, passionate, compassionate, humble, interesting person, a patriotic person,” Carstens mentioned. “But above all, authentic. I hate the fact that I had to meet her in this manner, but I actually felt blessed having had a chance to get to know her.”

Although Griner is present process a full medical and psychological analysis, Carstens mentioned she appeared “full of energy, looked fantastic.”

Griner, who additionally performed professional basketball in Russia, was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February after Russian authorities mentioned she was carrying vape canisters with hashish oil. The U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a cost that Russia has sharply rejected.

President Joe Biden introduced on Thursday that the U.S. had secured Griner’s launch. In trade, the administration provided Russia the discharge of infamous arms supplier Viktor Bout, who had been serving a 25-year sentence on prices that he conspired to promote tens of tens of millions of {dollars} in weapons that U.S officers mentioned had been to be used in opposition to Americans.

But the U.S. was unable to safe the liberty of Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia for practically 4 years. Administration officers have burdened repeatedly that they are still working to release Whelan, whom Russian officers have jailed on espionage prices that each his household and the U.S. authorities say are baseless.

“They hold Mr. Whelan differently because of these espionage charges,” John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, mentioned Sunday. “So we’re working through that now. We are now more informed, clearly having gone through this process over the last few months. We’re more informed. We have a better sense of the context here, where the Russia’s expectations are and we’re just going to keep working on it.”

Carstens, the U.S. authorities’s prime hostage negotiator, mentioned “there’s always cards” to play in securing a proposal for Whelan and mentioned he spoke with the jailed American on Friday.

“Here’s what I told him. I said, ‘Paul, you have the commitment of this president. The president’s focused. The secretary of state’s focused. I’m certainly focused, and we’re going to bring you home,’” Carstens mentioned. “And I reminded him, I said, ‘Paul, when you were in the Marines, and I was in the Army, they always reminded you, keep the faith.’ And I said, ‘Keep the faith. We’re coming to get you.’”

Carstens spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and Kirby appeared on ABC’s “This Week.”