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Viktor Bout’s mother thanks Putin, Russian Foreign Ministry for her son’s return

Brittney Griner, a US basketball star, was arrested in Russia in February 2022 on charges of attempting to smuggle drugs into the country

MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. Viktor Bout’s mother Raisa Bout thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Foreign Ministry for bringing her son home. Viktor Bout, who previously served prison time in the US, was exchanged for Russian national Brittney Griner.

"Of course, [it was possible] thanks to our President Vladimir Putin, I think, and I am so grateful. A low motherly bow to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov," she said on Russian TV Thursday.

Viktor Bout’s spouse Alla Bout disclosed that, just two days ago, Viktor was completely unaware about the upcoming exchange.

"We talked to Viktor on Tuesday, he did not know anything at that moment. It was two days ago. He was supposed to call his mother today, we were expecting a phone call at 20:00, but instead, we will see each other and hug each other, this will be the best, better than any call," she said.

Alla Bout also thanked all employees of the Foreign Ministry and consular departments that were involved in the release of the Russian national.

Earlier on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Russian citizen Viktor Bout, who was serving out a prison sentence in the United States on arms trafficking charges, was returning to Russia as a result of an agreement with the US to exchange him for American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was convicted in Russia of drug smuggling.

Brittney Griner, a US basketball star, was arrested in Russia in February 2022 on charges of attempting to smuggle drugs into the country. She flew to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport from New York, where upon arrival, two cartridges with cannabis oil were found in her luggage during baggage inspection. According to an expert review, the substance was cannabis oil, which qualifies as a narcotic substance. The court sentenced her to nine years in a penal colony.

As a member of the United States national women’s team, Griner won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 World Championships, as well as at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Before her arrest, she played for Russia’s Yekaterinburg professional basketball club.

Viktor Bout was detained in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok in 2008 under a warrant issued by a local court at the behest of the US. He was charged with illegally supplying weapons to a rebel group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the US. Bout was extradited to the United States two years later. In April 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in jail and slapped with a $15-million fine.

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