Maria Blagovolina, lawyer of the double Olympic champion, confirmed the expected move while Russia and the United States are negotiating a potential prisoner swap to secure Griner's release.

The American was arrested at an airport near Moscow on February 17 after authorities found cannabis-infused vape cartridges in her luggage.

Griner pleaded guilty to the charges but claimed she made an "honest mistake" after hurriedly packing for a flight.

On August 4, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession and smuggling, despite making an emotional final plea.

The US Government has insisted that Griner is "wrongfully detained".

It is negotiating a prisoner swap centred on exchanging Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the US, for Griner and Paul Whelan, a corporate executive who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

Alexander Darchiev, director of the North American department of Russia's Foreign Ministry, said last week that Moscow "has long been seeking the release of Viktor Bout," as reported by Russian state-run news agency TASS.

"The discussion of the very sensitive topic of the exchange of imprisoned citizens of Russia and the United States is taking place within the framework of the channels determined by our Presidents," added Darchiev.

Darchiev also praised prisoner swaps after the method saw the releases of former US marine Trevor Reed and Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko in April.

Griner's nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years that she had faced under the charges.

The 31-year-old was flying to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League, a club she has represented since 2014.

Griner won basketball gold medals at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.