Biden Meets Families of Russian-Held Detainees Griner, Whelan

WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden met on Friday with families of two Americans being held by Russia, and personally reassured them he is working to gain freedom for the detainees.

Biden sat down in the Oval Office with Cherelle Griner, partner of women’s basketball player Brittney Griner, and Elizabeth Whelan, sister of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

(Left) Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine, in Moscow on June 15, 2020. (Right) Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball player Brittney Griner at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow on Aug. 4, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden conducted the separate meetings to assure the families that the detainees “are at front of mind,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“We’re going to continue to do everything that we can, working tirelessly every day, to make sure that we get them , home,” she told reporters.

Biden “appreciated the opportunity to learn more about Brittney and Paul from those who love them most, and acknowledged that every minute they are being held is a minute too long,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement after the meetings.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan joined Biden at the meetings, the White House said.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star, was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drug charges on Aug. 4, a verdict that Biden called “unacceptable.”

Basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, sits inside a defendants’ cage after the court’s verdict in Khimki outside Moscow on Aug. 4, 2022. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters)

The United States in late July said it has put forward a “substantial offer” to secure the release of the two Americans.

Last month, Russia’s foreign ministry said it was engaged

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases