US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday, the top US diplomat said at a press conference.
He said it was “a frank and direct conversation.”
This is the first time the two have spoken since the war in Ukraine began in late February.
The meeting started shortly after 12:00pm/eastern and lasted for about 25 mins, a senior state department official said.
Blinken said “I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.”
That proposal includes an offer to swap convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, CNN reported earlier this week.
Secretary Blinken would not say whether he thought Moscow was more likely to move on a deal to free the two Americans held by Russia, nor would he say how Lavrov responded to the top US diplomat’s push to accept that “significant” proposal that was presented weeks ago.
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