Moscow-AFP) - The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced Thursday the "noise" made by US officials about the case of American basketball star Brittney Grenier, who was arrested in Russia and is being tried for drug trafficking, a file that President Joe Biden has given priority.

Russian media quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying that "the general uproar that modern politicians love so much can be annoying in this case," adding that "this is not just a distraction, but a confusion of the issue."

"What can help (...) is for the American side to take into account the signals it receives from Russia," he added.

The White House announced the day before that the release of Brittney Grenier was a "priority" for the US president, who had read an emotional letter from the player.

-terrified-
The Russian warning comes on the day of the second session of the trial of Grenier, who faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Phoenix Mercury player was arrested in February upon her arrival at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport with cannabis extracts and liquids.

While Ryabkov stressed that the trial must be waited out, some pointed to a possible prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia.

The Russian diplomat said, "It is clear that the judicial procedures have not been completed yet. We cannot talk about what will happen later until the completion" of the case.

In light of Russian case law, the 31-year-old young athlete can expect harsh punishment.
And she wrote a letter to President Joe Biden, which was symbolically deposited in the White House on Monday, the Independence Day of the United States, in which she implored him not to "forget" her.

"I know very well that you have to take care of a lot of things, but please don't ever forget us, me and other American detainees," said Brittney Greener from her cell, adding that she was "terrified at the idea of staying here forever."

- Prisoner exchange -
On Wednesday, Biden called Cheryl Greener, the player's partner, "to reassure her that he is working to secure Britney's release as quickly as possible," according to the White House.

The Americans and the Russians accuse each other of detaining citizens of the other country for political purposes. Many prisoners have been exchanged in the past.

In April, a former US Marine, Trevor Reid, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for violent acts, was exchanged for a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been imprisoned in the United States since 2010, on charges of drug trafficking and links to the Farc organization in Colombia.

Other exchanges of this kind will be the subject of talks. Among the most frequent names are Paul Whelan, an American who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage, and the famous Russian arms dealer, Victor Bout, who was arrested in Thailand in 2008 and is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.