Russia has today confirmed for the first time that it is in talks to swap Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout, the notorious 'Merchant of Death' arms dealer who has been imprisoned in the US since 2010. 
Speaking during a visit to Cambodia on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: 'We are ready to discuss this topic, but within the framework of the channel that was agreed upon by presidents Putin and Biden.' 
He however warned that if US officials speak about the deal in the press - as they did before Griner's sentencing - it could jeopardize the swap.
'If the Americans decide to once again resort to public diplomacy, that is their business and I would even say that it is their problem.' 
Griner was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony yesterday after being found guilty of smuggling drugs into Moscow airport. 
DailyMail.com reported exclusively yesterday that the deal to swap her for Bout was on the table, and could be completed within a matter of weeks.
A source close to the negotiations said Biden's position had weakened now that Griner has been found guilty and sentenced. 
'The US positioned has weakened now.

They showed their hand and now their bargaining position has weakened,' the source said. 









A source close to the ongoing negotiations told DailyMail.com that a deal to swap Brittney Griner with Viktor Bout is now more likely than ever, and could be completed within a month as the White House scrambles on weakened leverage to get her out of jail





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At a press briefing on Thursday afternoon after Griner was sentenced, White House aide John Kirby refused to confirm the details of a negotiation or whether Bout was part of it 






Bout's crimes are so notorious that they inspired the Nicholas Cage movie Lord of War

'She knew...

you don't go in there loaded up with drugs. She admitted it. It certainly doesn't seem like a very good trade. 
'He is one of the worst in the world and he is going to be given his freedom because a potentially spoiled person goes into Russia loaded up with drugs,' he said last week.
Bout, eskimoska.com (mouse click the next document) a former Soviet Military Officer, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 by Royal Thai Police at the request of American authorities. 
Former US Attorney General Eric Holder called 'one of the world's most prolific arms dealers' in history. 
Bout was so notorious, that his crimes inspired the film Lord of War.  
Griner was arrested at the airport in Moscow in February and has been incarcerated ever since, despite failed attempts from the White House to negotiate her release. 
On Thursday, she sat in the defendant's cage inside the courtroom throughout the proceedings, relying on an interpreter to whisper to her everything the judge said. 

















President Biden immediately denounced the sentence and claimed Russia had 'wrongfully' detained her