Brittney Griner.Photo: YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner (C) is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing at the Khimki City Court outside Moscow, Russia, 27 July 2022. Griner, a World Champion player of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury team was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after some hash oil was detected and found in her luggage, for which she now could face a prison sentence of up to ten years. US basketball player Brittney Griner attends hearing on drug charges, Khimki, Russian Federation - 27 Jul 2022

One day after WNBA starBrittney Griner was sentenced in a drug smuggling trial to nine years in a penal colony, Russia has indicated it is ready to discuss a prisoner swap, according to multiple outlets.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that Moscow was “ready to discuss this topic” during a news conference at a meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia,according to NBC News.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at a press conference in Phnom Penh Friday, said Russia is “prepared to engage through channels we’ve established … and we’ll be pursuing that,” according to the news outlet.

On Thursday, Pres. Biden called Griner’s sentence “unacceptable.”

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible,” the presidentsaid in a statement.

Last Wednesday, an official in the Biden administration confirmed to PEOPLE that the Biden administration had “made a substantial proposal to bring Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan [another American imprisoned in Russia] home weeks ago.”

According toCNN, the U.S. offered to trade 31-year-old Griner andWhelanfor convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The outlet said Russian officials also requested that the U.S. include convicted murderer and former Russian spy Vadim Krasikov in the package.

A U.S. official told PEOPLE Thursday thatthe Biden Administration is “still waiting” on Russiato respond to the offer.

“Sentences for this article of the criminal court, they usually not so severe. Usually, it’s like five and a half or six years. So nine years, it’s pretty unusual, and it contradicts the existing court practice in Russia.”

(L-R) Maria Blagovolina, Brittney Griner and Alexander Boykov.EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty

US' Women’s National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner (C), who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022. - Lawyers for US basketball star Brittney Griner, who is standing trial in Russia on drug charges, said on July 26, 2022 they hoped she would receive a “lenient” sentence.

Blagovolina, along with another member of Griner’s legal team, Alexander Boykov of the Moscow Legal Center, say they intend to appeal the sentence, and must do so within 10 days. While they don’t know if it will make a difference, Blagovolina says they have to try.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“We need to use every legal opportunity that we have, and appeal is one of these opportunities,” she says.

​​If Russia and the U.S. agree to an exchange, Griner’s legal team would drop the appeal process “immediately,” Boykov says, and the WNBA star would “proceed to depart.”

source: people.com