Donald Trump has claimed he rejected Russia's deal to swap the " Merchant of death " arms dealer.
Viktor Bout, 55, was freed last week in exchange for the return of WNBA star Brittney Griner despite being convicted in 2011 of conspiracy to kill Americans by supplying a Colombian terrorist group with weapons.
Basketball star Griner, who arrived in Moscow in February this year with vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her suitcase, had seen sentenced to nine years in a Russian forced labour camp.
She spent the last 10 months in prison in Russia after being detained at Moscow airport for allegedly carrying cannabis oil.
However, despite the swap, Trump has slammed President Biden for accepting the deal after admitting former US marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges since 2018, should have been sent back instead.
Trump, 76, posted on Truth Social: “I turned down a deal with Russia for a one on one swap of the so-called Merchant of Death for Paul Whelan.
“I wouldn’t have made the deal for a hundred people in exchange for someone that has killed untold numbers of people with his arms deals.”
The Biden administration confirmed they tried to release Whelan and Griner but Russia rejected their demands and insisted it was a one-for-one swap of Griner for Bout.
But despite turning downing the Whelan-Bout swap Trump believes he still "would have gotten Paul out."
He wrote: “The deal for Griner is crazy and bad. The taking wouldn’t have even happened during my Administration, but if it did, I would have gotten her out, fast!”
US officials said last week Moscow was still open to the possibility of Whelan's potential release believing Russians "have things they want in this world."
Vladimir Putin has also hinted more prisoner swaps with the US could be a possibility after Griner arrived back in Texas on Friday.
He said "everything is possible” when asked about the trade-off adding “compromises have been found.”
Putin admitted: “We aren’t refusing to continue this work in the future.”
Mr Whelan was "greatly disappointed" to hear he was not part of the prisoner swap as he told CNN: “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
John Bolton, a former national security advisor, told CBS last week the deal with Russia was a "surrender".
He argued: “This is not a deal. This is not a swap. This is a surrender.
“And terrorists and rogue states all around the world will take note of this, and it endangers other Americans in the future who can be grabbed.
"And used as bargaining chips by people who don’t have the same morals and scruples that we do.”
