Heads of US and Russian diplomacy will meet, but not on the Ukrainian war

US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken announced on Wednesday that he plans to speak with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov soon, for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February.

This telephone interview, scheduled “in the coming days (…) will not be a negotiation about Ukraine”, said Mr Blinken.

“It should be mainly devoted to the Americans detained in Russia and the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports,” specified the US Secretary of State during a press conference.

The diplomat said he plans to raise a priority issue: the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner, who were wrongfully arrested and should be allowed to return home.

Former US Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul called on President Joe Biden’s administration to exchange the two American prisoners for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the United States.