US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov about the possible release of two US citizens imprisoned by Moscow – the first conversation between the two since the war in Ukraine began. They had a “frank and direct conversation” on Friday morning about an offer to release the US basketball player Brittney Griner and the Paul Whelan, Blinken said in Washington. “I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” Blinken said. Blinken also addressed Lavrov about the wa…