(Photo : SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Viktor Bout, a convicted arms dealer who recently declared his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently returned to his native country and made a startling choice.
Viktor Bout, the arms dealer that Russia got in a prisoner swap for WNBA star Brittney Griner, has made a crucial decision after returning to his homeland.
The notorious weapons trader joined a major political party, according to The Spun.
To secure a place in the Russian parliament, Viktor Bout joined an extreme nationalist party on the right.
The BBC reported Monday that the renowned weapons dealer, also known as the "Merchant of Death," has joined the pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) following the US-Russia prisoner swap.
Leader of the LDPR Leonid Slutsky praised Bout on Telegram for joining "the best political party in today's Russia."
Despite its name, the LDPR adheres to a rigid, ultranationalist philosophy. According to Reuters, the party has been around since 1992, and its members have consistently called for a Russian invasion of the former Soviet republics, according to Business Insider.
Bout Supports Putin's War Against Ukraine
Viktor Bout said he supports Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. In an interview, he said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was justified and that Moscow should have intervened militarily "sooner."
Of the Russia-Ukraine war, he said, "I fully support it." Viktor Bout added that he would volunteer to join the battle "without a doubt" if he got the chance.
Following a high-profile US-Russia prisoner swap for basketball player Griner, who had been held captive by Russia since February, Bout returned to his native country last week.
After being convicted of plotting to aid terrorists and murder Americans, Bout has been incarcerated in the United States for the last 12 years.
He is suspected of having conducted business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Angola, Liberia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan throughout the 1990s, when he was a famous international weapons dealer.
In 2008, he was apprehended in Thailand during a covert operation by the US Drug Enforcement Agency.
Prisoners Were Friendly Towards Each Other During Swap
Viktor Bout and Brittney Griner, who played for the Phoenix Mercury, briefly crossed paths in Abu Dhabi last week during the US-Russia prisoner swap.
In an interview with the Moscow-run RT television network, the Russian arms dealer said he wished the American athlete "good luck," and "she even extended her hand." He noted that wishing others success and happiness is a time-honored custom in Russian culture.
When asked whether Griner interacted with him throughout the high-level conversation, the 55-year-old said, "Yes, she did," and he thought the basketball star was quite friendly towards him, per a report from The Washington Post.
Russian official media released an edited version of a video purporting to show the two talking on Thursday; however, the clip does not seem to show any dialogue between the two parties, and Griner has not addressed the rumor.
The video shows Bout being joined by an American guy in khakis while Griner is surrounded by three Russian men dressed in suits. On the tarmac, the two passes one another as Bout hugs the Russian guys, and Griner departs with the American.
Two-time Olympic gold winner Griner was detained in February at an airport close to Moscow, where she was on her route to spend the WNBA offseason.
For smuggling into Russia certain vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is banned there, she was given a sentence of nine and a half years in jail.
Brittney Griner said she made a simple mistake, and her attorneys insisted she had a valid prescription to treat chronic pain and other illnesses.
Related Article: Russia-Ukraine War: Ukrainians Fire Missiles to Russian Military Bases, Hit Barracks, Recreation Center
