U.S. officials have met with basketball star Brittney Griner, according to the Biden administration.
Griner has been detained since August in Russia and is currently imprisoned in Moscow. Officials from the U.S. Embassy in the Russian capital met with Griner on Thursday.
Russian officials placed Griner under arrest after she was found to be carrying cannabis vape cartridges through a Moscow airport.
Griner is “doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
Jean-Pierre also said securing Griner’s release and safe return to the U.S. is considered a “top priority” by President Biden.
Should the U.S. not be able to procure the two-time Olympic gold medalist’s release, she would be transferred to a Russian penal colony, where she would serve a nine-year sentence working in a labor camp.
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