Griner was heading back to the United States, ending what President Joe Biden called months of "hell" for her and her wife.
The swap was arranged after talks spanning months during a time of high tensions between the two countries in the wake of Russia's February invasion of Ukraine. Griner, held since a week before the invasion, traveled from a Russian penal colony to Moscow, then to Abu Dhabi's airport in the United Arab Emirates where the exchange took place, with the two walking past each other on a tarmac, US officials said.
"She's safe, she's on a plane, she's on her way home after months of being unjustly detained in Russia, held under intolerable circumstances," Biden told reporters at the White House, adding she would arrive within the next 24 hours. "This is a day we've worked toward for a long time. We never stopped pushing for her release."
Biden said the United States will continue to work to free Paul Whelan, a former Marine also held in Russia, after being unable to convince Russia to release him as part of the negotiations.
Griner (32) a two-time Olympic gold medalist and star of the Women's National Basketball Association's Phoenix Mercury, was arrested on Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport in February after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is banned in Russia, were found in her luggage. She was sentenced on August 4 to nine years in a penal colony on charges of possessing and smuggling drugs.
The Russian foreign ministry said it traded Griner for Bout (55), a Russian citizen who in 2012 was given a 25-year prison sentence by a US court on charges related to his arms-dealing career. For almost two decades, Bout had been the world's most notorious arms dealer, selling weapons to rogue states, rebel groups and warlords in Africa, Asia and South America.
The swap was a high-profile and rare example of cooperation between Washington and Moscow since the invasion. The two countries also swapped prisoners in April when Russia released former US Marine Trevor Reed and the United States released Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko.
The Griner arrangements came together within the past 48 hours after Biden made the decision to exchange Bout in recent weeks, the White House said. A conditional grant of clemency for Bout was not completed until Thursday, Jean-Pierre said, after US officials in the UAE verified Griner had arrived there.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Griner from the Oval Office, along with Griner's wife, Cherelle. The White House released a photo of the telephone call and Biden said Griner was "in good spirits" and had displayed "grit and incredible dignity" throughout the ordeal.
"These past few months have been hell for Brittney," and for her wife, family and teammates, Biden said.
The UAE president and Saudi crown prince led mediation efforts that secured Griner's release, a UAE-Saudi joint statement said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre expressed gratitude that Saudi Arabia and other countries had raised the issue, but said the talks were between Russia and the United States. "There was no mediation involved," Jean-Pierre said.
