Brittney Griner Update: U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirms negotiations between U.S. and Russia active

Brittney Griner's situation in Russia has seen some developments over the past few months. Basketball fans, players, and team owners have been pushing the Biden administration for months to broker the release of the WNBA star. Her arrest for less than 1 gram of cannabis oil and the subsequent nine-year sentence has sparked outrage all over the world.

CBS News' Margaret Brennan has provided an update regarding her release. It's been over a year since Griner was convicted and the public started to believe that the Biden administration has moved on to other issues. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in an interview with Brennan, stated that negotiations with the Russian authorities are ongoing and the US state department hasn't forgotten about her.

The 8-time WNBA All-Star was convicted on a charge of attempting to smuggle drugs into Russia. The US State Department is trying to execute a prisoner exchange that would see Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan return home. The details of the supposed prisoner exchange were not shared by Secretary of State Blinken but he did mention that the desire to bring them back hasn't faded.

In the interview with CBS Margaret Brennan of "Face the Nation," the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that Russia often doesn't show any seriousness in the negotiations but the US engages in discussions regularly. He said:

"We did put a significant proposal on the table many months ago. And since then, we’ve been engaged repeatedly in any way that we can to try to advance it and to look to see if there are different permutations that could achieve what we’re trying to achieve, which is to get our people home – Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan. We’re engaged in that on a regular basis, and it’s my determination that we bring our people home. We will not stop until we do."

"We have to see if the engagements that we’ve had, the discussions that we have produce an actual result. That’s the most important thing. But we are not resting on the laurels of having put forward a proposal some months ago. We’ve been actively engaged over these many months to try to move things forward."

This may come as great news to some fans, who had given up hope on the administration. Even though Mr. Secratary was being diplomatic in his answers, an update on the situation does bring some relief to the Griner family.

What has happened with Brittney Griner in Russia since the conviction last year?

WNBA star Brittney Griner in a Russian prison [Source: LA Times]

Brittney Griner's conviction was preposterous alone, but her condition in Russia has caused more outrage. In August this year, Vladimir Putin's government notified the US embassy in Moscow that Griner was being transferred to a Russian penal colony in Mordovia where she will serve the remainder of her sentence. Behind the barbed-wire fence of Female Penal Colony IK-2, she is likely to face 16-hour workdays, stale food, racism, homophobia, and a slew of other horrors.

As reported by Yahoo! Sports, Brittney Griner's attorneys in Russia gave an update after visiting her and said she is "doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapted to a new environment." Yahoo Sports also reported on the possible day-to-day life the WNBA star is facing in the penal colony:

"To better understand what day-to-day penal colony life is like and what challenges Griner might face, Yahoo Sports combed reports from human rights groups and government agencies and spoke to attorneys and researchers who have visited inmates in IK-2. They paint a bleak picture of corrupt guards, military-esque rules, exhausting workdays and extreme isolation."

Brittney Griner's appeal in the Russian courts led nowhere and she stood with a stone-cold facial expression as the judge sentenced her to nine years.

Only time will tell whether the US Department of State is capable of carrying out a prisoner swap with Russia. Viktor Bout, also known as the "merchant of death," is the prisoner who will most likely be sent to Russia. The US wants to bring back two prisoners, Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan, but the Russian government, according to Secretary Blinken, is only interested in a one-for-one swap.

As a result, there is growing concern that the country may be forced to choose which citizens return home.

Secretary Blinken did not provide any additional information about the exchange with Russia, and one can only hope that the situation improves.