Russia’s right celebrates the return of the Merchant of Death.
(Photo: dpa)
The joy of basketball player Brittney Griner’s homecoming is great in the USA – and absolutely rightly so. Since the beginning of the year, Griner has been in the hands of the Russian judiciary for a small amount of cannabis oil found on her. Most recently in a penal colony in the Republic of Mordovia – the region is known for its penal camps. Griner’s prospect until the end: nine years in prison.
Perhaps the joy is even greater in Russia. There, nationalists celebrate the return of Victor But, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death.” In the Kremlin, too, where the deal had been advocated, the satisfaction should be accordingly.
Because But is extremely valuable for Russian President Vladimir Putin: In 2019, Russian authorities had offered 15 Americans at once to be able to bring But back to Russia from custody in the United States. Now a single person is enough without any special knowledge of security policy.
Putin should look forward to more deals
But, on the other hand, connections to secret services are said to exist, or at least to Russian high society. Being popular with them is politically particularly important for Putin as a result of the delicate situation in the Ukraine war, and domestically the situation in Russia is tense. The fact that the Kremlin boss himself is said to have recently campaigned for But’s release speaks for both.
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Of course, the prisoner swap is good per se. The fact that it worked shows that Moscow and Washington are able to communicate, negotiate and find solutions, despite the enormously tense situation surrounding Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Brittney Griner freed by prisoner swap
On the other hand, it is less good that the United States has obviously made the smaller gain in terms of security policy. Because exchanging an athlete one-to-one for an arms dealer is certainly the right thing to do in human terms. From a strategic point of view, Washington has set the price for future deals comparatively low.
This could become a problem for other Western countries whose citizens are in Russian captivity. Putin, on the other hand, should look forward to further deals. As early as Friday he said he thought another exchange of prisoners of this kind would be conceivable.
More: “Dealer of Death” is released – USA exchange Russian But for basketball star Griner