Russian officials on Saturday expressed cautious optimism about a prisoner swap deal with the U.S. that would include Brittany Griner and Paul Whelan, both of whom were deemed wrongly imprisoned by the Biden administration. “‘Quiet diplomacy’ is continuing, and it should bear fruit, if of course, Washington strictly follows it without slipping into propaganda,” a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry told the state Tass news service. Until this point, Russian officials had said America’s offer to swap WNBA star Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout was unequal. A source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Russia is favorable to another deal to add a second U.S. prisoner, rather than the German prisoner and convicted murderer Vadim Krasikov they were originally pushing for. The State Department said Saturday that the U.S. will continue to try to free Griner and Whelan and would not talk about a “substantial proposal” introduced weeks ago.