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Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington had made a
"substantial offer" to obtain the release of U.S. basketball
star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, both
detained in Russia.
A source said that Washington was willing to exchange convicted
arms trafficker Viktor Bout, jailed in the United States, as
part of such a deal.
Blinken and Lavrov have not spoken since Russia invaded Ukraine
on Feb. 24. Families of the U.S. detainees have been increasing
pressure on President Joe Biden, most recently in the case of
two-time Olympic gold medallist Griner, who was arrested on
drugs charges at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17.
Lavrov told a news conference that talks on prisoner exchanges
had been taking place since a summit in Geneva last year where
presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden had agreed to nominate
officials to look into the issue.
He said his ministry was not involved in that, but
"nevertheless, I will listen to what he (Blinken) has to say".
Speaking during a trip to Uzbekistan, Lavrov said he would talk
to Blinken when he returned to his office.
"It's clear this is unlikely to work out today. But in the
coming days we will offer our American colleagues a convenient
date," he said.
(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by
Angus MacSwan/Guy Faulconbridge)
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