• Brittney Griner’s Russian drugs trial should be ended “very soon,” her lawyer said.
• The 31-year-old Texan was caught on February 17 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
• She has pled guilty to the drug allegations against her but has denied breaking Russian law.

Brittney Griner’s Russian drugs trial should be ended “very soon,” her lawyer said on Tuesday, as the Kremlin warned the US that megaphone diplomacy would not result in a prisoner swap for the 31-year-old Texan.

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star, was caught on February 17 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport with vape cartridges carrying hashish oil in her luggage.

She has pled guilty to the drug allegations against her but has denied breaking Russian law. She might face up to ten years in prison.

Lawyer Maria Blagovolina of Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners said a verdict in the case was expected “very soon.” On Thursday, both the defence and the prosecution are slated to make their closing arguments.

The case against Griner has emphasised Russia’s tense relations with the United States, which have reached a record post-Cold War low as a result of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

According to Blagovolina, Griner learned that Washington had made a “significant offer” to Moscow to release American individuals detained in Russia.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson who had expressed surprise at the public nature of Blinken’s comments at the time, said on Tuesday that any discussion of a hypothetical swap should be kept private.

“We still believe that any exchanges of information on this topic should be discreet,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “Megaphone diplomacy and the public exchange of opinions will not lead to results.”

Griner, who appeared in Khimki District Court outside Moscow wearing a basic khaki T-shirt and round-rimmed glasses, appeared concentrated and frightened as the trial neared its conclusion, according to her lawyer.

“She still knows that the end (of her trial) is near and of course she heard the news, so she is hoping that sometime she could be coming home,” Blagovolina said.

According to a source, Washington is eager to exchange convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, also known as the “Merchant of Death.”

After the ruling, which is anticipated no later than mid-August, Blagovolina claimed a swap was “legally doable.”

Griner testified last week that she couldn’t figure out how the vape cartridges wound up in her baggage, suggesting that she had packed them mistakenly as she rushed to depart.

Griner was on her way to the playoffs with her Russian side, UMMC Ekaterinburg, after spending time at home in the United States.

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