In a speech on the occasion of the completion of the exchange of detainees between the United States and Russia, which included American basketball star Brittany Grainer, US President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked the UAE for its role in the exchange process, Biden said : "Grainer is now on her way back from Russia to the United States.

The White House said in a statement:"President Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Grainer after her release.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that an exchange of detainees had been carried out with the United States.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had released Grainer in exchange for the release by the United States of its citizen Viktor Bout.

Grainer, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a star of the US women's National Basketball Association, was arrested in mid-February when she arrived to play for a Russian team after the end of the women's National Basketball Association season.

The day after Grainer was sentenced to 9 years in prison, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last August that Moscow was ready to discuss the exchange of prisoners with Washington through existing diplomatic channels

The American player was sentenced to nine years in prison in August for possession of electronic cigarette packs with a small amount of cannabis oil at the Moscow airport in February.

The 32-year-old's case came amid high tension between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine.

Grainer pleaded guilty to the charges against her, but said she did not intend to break the law or use the substance banned in Russia.

Grainer testified that she had received permission from an American doctor to use medical cannabis oil to relieve pain from her many injuries, and none of her drug tests came back positive.

It should be noted that the use of medical marijuana is not allowed in Russia.