Lavrov will offer a time to discuss a possible prisoner swap for Brittney Griner

Russia's Foreign Minister said on Friday he would propose a suitable date for a phone call with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to discuss a possible exchange of prisoners.

The Biden administration has offered to hand over imprisoned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul N. Whelan, both are in Russian custody, according to a person familiar with the talks.

The two Americans became pawns in a high-stakes diplomatic game as relations between Moscow and Washington have deteriorated sharply since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

On Wednesday, Blinken said Washington had "put a substantial proposal on the table", bi in which he declined to discuss details. He added that he plans to discuss the proposal soon with his Russian counterpart, Sergei V. Lavrov, whom he has not spoken to since Russia invaded Ukraine more than five months ago.

During a trip to Uzbekistan on Friday, Mr Lavrov said he learned of Mr Blinken's statement from television during a visit to Africa this week . He said any phone conversation between the two men should be conducted from his office and that Russia had asked the US side "to clarify the issues they want to discuss".

Mr. Lavrov said the issue of prisoner swaps was discussed at a January meeting in Geneva between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, and the two leaders ordered their government agencies to discuss it further. before. Mr. Lavrov said his department was not involved in this discussion, but would listen to what Mr. Blinken had to say.

The US government is under increased pressure from relatives of US citizens to release them from Russian prisons.

Ms. Griner, a W.N.B.A. who had played for a Russian team during the offseason, is tried in a Russian court and faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison for drug trafficking. The 31-year-old athlete was detained at a Moscow airport about a week before Russia invaded Ukraine, and customs officials discovered hash oil in her luggage.

Mr. Whelan was detained in 2018 at a Moscow hotel, where he was staying for a friend's wedding. In 2020, a Russian court sentenced him to 16 years in prison for espionage, a charge he and his family have denied.

Mr. Bout is serving a 25-year federal prison sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to people who say they intend to kill Americans. Russia has denounced Mr. Bout's prosecution in America as politically motivated.

In April, after an elaborate diplomatic mission, Russia released Trevor Reed, another former Marine, in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who had been sentenced to a long prison term in the United States for trafficking cocaine.