VOA新闻杂志2022--俄罗斯表示暂未与美国就“换囚”达成协议

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Russia Says No Deal Yet on Exchange for Jailed Americans

Russia said on Thursday that it had not yet reached a deal with the United States on a prisoner exchange involving two Americans.

Russian officials warned that any exchange needs to be negotiated quietly.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that U.S. officials had offered Russia a deal. The aim is to gain the release of basketball player Brittney Griner and former soldier Paul Whelan. A person with knowledge of the matter said the U.S. government proposed trading convicted Russian arms dealer¹ Viktor Bout² for the two Americans.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that prisoner exchanges were usually negotiated quietly.

"Normally, the public learns about it when the agreements are already implemented," Peskov said.

He said that "no agreements have been finalized⁴" and did not provide more details.

Blinken's comments were the first from a U.S. government official about any action taken to secure Griner's release.

Griner is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and player for the Women's National Basketball Association's (WNBA) Phoenix⁵ Mercury. She was arrested in February at an airport in Moscow. Inspectors⁶ found a container of cannabis oil with her possessions.

Blinken said he expects to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the proposed prisoner deal and other matters. It reportedly would be their first phone call since before Russia sent its troops into Ukraine.

Russia has expressed interest in the release of Bout for years. He was an arms dealer once called the "Merchant of Death." He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 on charges that he illegally sold millions of dollars in weapons.

Griner's trial on drug charges started in a court outside Moscow this month. She said Wednesday that she did not know how the containers, or cartridges⁷, ended up in her bag. But she said a doctor recommended she use cannabis to treat her basketball-related pain.

The 31-year-old has admitted guilt⁸ but she said she did not mean to break the law. She said she quickly prepared her things for her return to play in a Russian basketball league when the WNBA was not playing. She faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of transporting drugs.

On Wednesday, Griner said that a Russian language expert only told her a small amount of what was being said while she was held at the Moscow airport. Officials told her to sign documents, but "no one explained any of it to me," she said.

Griner also said she received no explanation of her rights and could not talk to a lawyer during the first hours of her detention⁹. She said she used a computer program, or app, on her phone to communicate with a customs officer.

Her arrest came at a time of increasing tension between Russia and the United States before Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. Griner's five months of detention have raised strong criticism among her supporters in the United States.

The administration of President Joe Biden has faced political pressure to free Griner and other Americans whom the U.S. has declared to be "wrongfully detained."

Whelan is a business security executive from Michigan. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on spying charges in 2020. The U.S. government has denounced the charges as false.

The U.S. has long resisted prisoner exchanges. There is concern that the deals could lead to more hostage-taking. Officials also fear exchanges could create a false equivalency between a wrongfully detained American and a foreigner considered justly convicted.

In April, however, the government made a deal to trade U.S. Marine¹⁰ veteran Trevor Reed for jailed Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko.

Words in This Story

implement³ — v. to put into use or to make something active or effective

cannabis — n. a drug (such as marijuana or hashish) that comes from the hemp¹¹ plant and is smoked illegally

merchant — n. a person who buys and sells goods especially in large amounts

equivalency — n. a quality or state of one thing having the same value as another thing

1 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

2 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

3 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

4 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

6 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

8 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

9 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

10 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

11 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。