WNBA superstar Brittney Griner is back on American soil after American president Joe Biden freed her in an exchange with the Russian government for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Brittney Griner and Bout crossed paths on a tarmac at an airport outside Abu Dhabi, per footage released by Russia’s FSB security services.
Russia’s FSB security service released images of the two being led past each other on the tarmac at the airport in Abu Dhabi during the swap, although the video cuts away as they pass and there was no footage showing them interacting.
Speaking to Maria Butina, a former political prisoner in the United States and current lawmaker and media personality in Russia, Bout revealed what he told Griner as they crossed paths, according to Reuters.
“I wished her luck, she even sort of reached out her hand to me,” Bout said. “Again, it’s our tradition. You should wish everyone good fortune and happiness.”
Bout added that Griner “was positively inclined” towards him.
Griner was set to serve nine years in a maximum-security penal colony for women for attempting to bring a small amount of medical marijuana hashish oil aboard a flight with her Russian Premier League team. Bout was set to serve life in prison for various crimes against the American government.
[Reuters]
