The US State Department has attempted to discourage former NBA champion Dennis Rodman from pursuing plans to travel to Russia to seek the release of imprisoned American and WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Rodman told NBC News on Saturday that he hoped to fly to Russia this week as part of an informal diplomacy effort to secure Griner's freedom. Griner has been held in Russia since February and has been sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges.
"I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl," Rodman told NBC.
He did not specify from whom he received permission but State Department spokesman Ned Price maintained on Monday that any travel he undertakes will not be on behalf of the US government.
"We put forward a substantial proposal to Russia to seek the freedom of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner," Price told reporters, referring to ongoing bilateral efforts with Russia to secure Griner's release. "We believe that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder those release efforts."
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
.jpg)
.jpg)
USD
EUR
GBP
RUB