Former national security adviser slams White House over Viktor Bout-Brittney Griner swap
Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton has denounced Thursday’s high-level prisoner swap with Russia, saying it was a sign of weakness that emboldens “terrorists and rogue states.”
“The Bout-for-Griner prisoner swap is not a trade, it’s an American surrender. This is not what American strength looks like. Terrorists and rogue states are smiling,” Bolton said on Twitter.
Russian national Viktor Bout, sentenced in the US to 25 years on arms smuggling charges, was exchanged for basketball star Brittney Griner, who was sentenced in August to nine years in a Russian penal colony for drug trafficking. The trade took place in the United Arab Emirates.
The US and Russia pardoned both of them before the swap, which was mediated by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to the joint statement released by the two Gulf states on Thursday.
