Biden signed off on proposal presented to Russia to try to secure the release of Griner and Whelan

 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said President Joe Biden was "directly involved" and signed a "substantial proposal" to Moscow to try to secure jailed Americans Britney Griner and Paul Whelan was released.

As first reported by CNN, as part of the proposal, the U.S. government has offered to trade convicted arms dealer Victor Bout.

Blinken did not directly confirm that Bout was part of the deal, saying he "can't and will not elaborate on what we have proposed to Russia over the past few weeks."

 He added: "Certainly, as far as the president is concerned, not only is he directly involved, but he supports every recommendation we make, of course, when it comes to Americans being arbitrarily detained abroad, including in this particular case. "

Any prisoner exchange requires presidential approval and takes precedence over Justice Department objections.

 The top U.S. diplomat plans to speak with Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov in the coming days and said at a news conference Wednesday that he "wants to talk to Secretary Lavrov and I can push to get them back. home effort." . "

"In my opinion, it would be useful to send a clear, direct message to the Russians about our important priorities. As I mentioned earlier, that includes securing the return of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan," he said.

Blinken continued: "We make judgments, including direct engagement, in every situation where we believe our diplomacy is expected to advance our interests and values." 

"We judge when it makes sense to speak out publicly, and in general I believe in as much transparency as possible. Sometimes we judge we'll keep the conversation quiet. So in this case, I feel compelled to clarify those issues. It's about the incarceration of our American citizens, the food prices the world faces due to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, and the plans Russia is now working on to annex Ukraine are territories that our Russian colleagues heard directly from me," he said.

Paul Whelan and Britney Greenner's families were notified by a senior administration official before Secretary Blinken announced that a "substantial proposal" had been made to secure their release from Russia, an official said. Officials will also speak to their families today and tomorrow.

John Kirby, communications coordinator for the National Security Council, told CNN on Wednesday that the Biden administration made "significant proposals" weeks ago, adding that "proposals have been made, and we certainly hope Russia will respond positively." , but I don't want to go into details. "

Kirby told reporters at a White House news conference that DHS Assistant Adviser Josh Geltzer spoke with Greener and Whelan's families earlier today before Blinken announced the planned prisoner exchange.

Kirby told CNN's Kaitlan Collins that pressure on Wednesday would come if the president's national security team believes Biden may need to make the proposal head-on without Russia's active involvement. I'm serious about making sure this release -- I'm not talking or announcing on behalf of the president. We believe this is a serious proposal, and we hope the Russians will take it seriously as well. "

Stressing the government's reluctance to reveal more details about the prisoner swap, he told reporters, "I'm sure you can all understand that by talking openly with you, it won't help us send them home." Everyone consults, so I don't More details will be given, but I will say that the President and his team are ready to take extraordinary steps to bring our people home, as we have shown with Trevor Reed That's what we're doing here, and it's actively happening right now. "

CNN's Kaitlan Collins and DJ Judd contributed to this article.