The US and Russia make a deal again but there is more to diplomacy on ice.
Russia and the United States have shown that they can work together with their second prisoner swap this year, but, despite Moscow’s suggestions, many do not expect to see a wider diplomacy in relation to the Ukraine war.
A day after the swap, working-level US and Russian diplomats met in Istanbul. However, a US official stated that they only discussed “a narrow set of bilateral issues” rather than the Ukraine war.
Brittney Griner was arrested for minor drug charges and walked onto the Abu Dhabi tarmac to board a plane that would take her back to the United States.
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Viktor Bout was the man walking in the opposite direction. He was an arms dealer who was arrested in 2008 US sting operations in Thailand.
Paul Whelan is still in prison, an American who was accused by Russia of spying. Although President Joe Biden’s Republican rivals criticized him for his detention, the administration maintained that it was still working towards his release.
Biden’s administration stated that Russia would not change. However, President Vladimir Putin remained open to the possibility of further swaps with the United States. This sparked speculation about which Russians he wants to liberate.
Putin said to reporters during a visit in Kyrgyzstan that “this is the result from negotiations and the search for compromises.”
US and Russia again make deal but broader diplomacy on ice https://t.co/UYVZr5oIAh
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He also stated in Ukraine that an “ultimately” agreement would have to be reached in Ukraine. This was after he invaded the country in February. It prompted a furious defense supported by Western weapons, which has driven back Russian troops.
– ‘Nothing more’ –
The prisoner exchange was arranged by the United States and Russia through back channels, with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates.
The two countries made a similar deal in April. They swapped Trevor Reed, a former Marine who was involved in a drunken brawl for Konstantin Yaroshenko (drug-smuggling pilot), and the two were swapped in Istanbul.
Turkey, which was the subject of Friday’s closed door talks, and the United Arab Emirates have both complicated alliances with America and balked at attempts to isolate Moscow. They also serve as hubs for Russian expatriates.
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, had suggested the prisoner swap involving Griner and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a July telephone conversation, their only direct conversation since the war.
After Griner’s release, Blinken stated that the United States was willing to work with Russia on specific issues like arms control, but that the swap did not indicate a wider diplomatic openness.
Blinken stated that the goal is to return unjustly detained Americans to their families.
“That was the focal point. It is all that you need. It is also not less.
Privately, Western diplomats insist that it is vital not to allow back-channel diplomacy to play into Putin’s hands by making Russia an issue between the United States and Russia.
Russia claims it was threatened by Ukraine’s NATO ambitions. The United States insists on Ukraine being the country that invaded it and that any peace initiative is theirs. It will not negotiate with Kyiv.
Will Pomeranz was the director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute. He said that the swap was solely focused on the need to release prisoners.
“I don’t believe this will have any real effect really on US-Russia relations. He said that Russia and the United States are in such a dire, horrible state.
“I don’t believe this will have any real effect really on US-Russia relations. He said that Russia and the United States are in such a dire, horrible state.
