US awaits ‘serious response’ from Russia over Brittney Griner release proposal

Diplomat in Moscow says US has put a significant proposal on the table' in effort to free basketball star jailed on drugs conviction

The US is waiting for a serious response" from Russia to a series of proposals regarding the release of the basketball star Brittney Griner, a senior US diplomat said.

Elizabeth Rood, the US chargee d'affaires in Moscow, told Russia's state-owned RIA news agency that talks about freeing Griner - who was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs - were ongoing. But Rood said Russia was yet to seriously engage.