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Referring to a letter that U.S. President Joe Biden intends to
send to Griner according to NBC news, Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergei Ryabkov said that "hype" around the case does not help,
and that "this kind of correspondence does not help".
The United States and Russia swapped prisoners in late April
when Moscow released former U.S. marine Trevor Reed from a
Russian prison and, in return, Washington freed Konstantin
Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who had been jailed on drug
trafficking charges in the United States.
The exchange came as the ties between the two countries sank to
their worst in decades over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Griner was arrested on Feb. 17 at Moscow's Sheremteyevo airport,
after cannabis-infused vaporiser cartridges were allegedly found
in her lugggage. She faces 10 years in prison on drugs charges.
She went on trial last week and her next hearing is due to start
on Thursday.
Since Reed's release, calls to the Biden administration to do
more to secure the freedom of Griner and other Americans
detained in Russia and elsewhere overseas have intensified.
On Wednesday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on
the phone with Cherelle Griner, the basketball star's wife,
assuring her to do "whatever is necessary" to secure the release
of the two-time Olympic gold medalist as soon as possible.
(Reporting by Reuters; additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk,
editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Angus MacSwan)
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