'Merchant of Death' Viktor Bout Reveals Surprising Message He Told Brittney Griner During Prisoner Swap

Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who has been released in a prisoner swap with American basketball star Brittney Griner, wished her good luck on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi, where they were swapped.

On Thursday, Bout was traded for the WNBA star who was arrested earlier this year for bringing cannabis vape oil when arriving to play for a team in Russia.

On the other hand, Bout had spent 14 years in a U.S. jail for arms trafficking, money laundering, and conspiring to kill Americans, Reuters reported. Griner and Bout crossed paths on the Abu Dhabi airport tarmac hours after the U.S. and Russia agreed to the prisoner swap.

In a video released by Russia's FSB security service during the transfer, Griner, wearing a red jacket and without her signature dreadlocks, was seen walking along with officials before coming into contact with Bout.

Some men in the clip shook hands once they got near each other, but it was unclear if Griner and Bout did the same as the video was cut.

"I wished her luck, she even sort of reached out her hand to me," Bout told the Russian state-controlled news TV network RT on Saturday.

Bout added: "It's our tradition. You should wish everyone good fortune and happiness." He noted that he believed Griner "was positively inclined" towards him.

Viktor Bout Praises Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Wants to Volunteer

State media reported that Viktor Bout praised the invasion of Ukraine and even said it should have happened sooner. Bout told RT he would like to join as a volunteer if he had a chance and the required skills.

He noted that Russia's "special military operation" has the support of "every Russian person."

"To be honest, I couldn't even understand why we did not do it earlier," he told the outlet.

Bout cited protests in Kharkiv in 2014, where supporters of Russia could be seen waving huge tricolors and chanting, "Russia, Russia, Russia" in Donbas and Odesa in Ukraine, Yahoo reported.

Bout then told host Maria Butina that he knew "conditions were not right" at the time and were not prepared, "but I would have supported it wholeheartedly."

Brittney Griner's Prisoner Swap Stirs up Discussion

Brittney Griner's prisoner swap with convicted Viktor Bout raised the old question: "Do prisoner swaps do more harm than good?"

According to Reuters, some critics, including members of Congress and federal law enforcement, warned that deals similar to Griner merely encourage other countries to target Americans to gain leverage over the U.S.

Some argue that the U.S. government should instead focus on discouraging and punishing countries that hold or arrest American citizens without due process. However, the families of those detained overseas do not buy that reasoning.

After learning that years of quiet diplomacy had done little to bring back their loved ones, some U.S. detainees' friends and families stepped up their efforts to get the news out after Griner's arrest in February attracted attention to American detainees held abroad.

It is clear from the circumstances surrounding Griner's release that the Biden administration is struggling to make decisions. After months of negotiations, Russia's only concession was to release Griner and not with Paul Whelan.

President Joe Biden previously told the press that they still have not forgotten about Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan. Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 and was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison on espionage charges.

Biden noted that they "will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul's release." However, some U.S. officials admitted that bringing him home might be harder, as his case is going to be treated differently by the Russians because of the "sham espionage" charges against him.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Video Shows Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout Prisoner Exchange - From Washington Post