( CNN ) -- The U.S. and Russian ambassadors to the United Nations have exchanged a flurry of Twitter posts about the controversial punk rock band Pussy Riot . Meanwhile , Russian media suggested a Russian athlete in the Sochi Games may have been sporting an image supporting Pussy Riot on his snowboard Thursday in what could be the Olympics ' first protest . In the diplomatic dispute , Samantha Power , the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , apparently initiated the exchange with a Russian counterpart when she tweeted Wednesday about meeting formerly imprisoned band members Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova , both of whom were released in December . Power posted a photograph of herself with the two punk rockers , who `` came by to discuss their time in jail , '' Power tweeted . She also stated : `` Met some brave 'troublemakers ' today . '' . Power subsequently tweeted : `` I asked # PussyRiot if they were afraid of prison . Response : No . In prison we could see the terrible conditions . It 's human rights fieldwork . '' Then the Russian ambassador to the United Nations , Vitaly Churkin , told a U.N. press conference that Power should join the band and invite them to play at the National Cathedral in Washington . Power responded on Twitter : `` Ambassador Churkin , I 'd be honored to go on tour with # PussyRiot -- a group of girls who speak up & stand for human rights . Will you join us ? '' Power also added : `` I ca n't sing , but if # PussyRiot will have me , Amb Churkin , I say our 1st concert is for Russia 's pol . prisoners . # LiveFromMatrosskayaTishina . '' Matrosskaya Tishina is a notorious Moscow prison where opposition activists have been held . Pussy Riot tells Christiane Amanpour : 'We are free people , and free people feel no fear . '' A third member of Pussy Riot , Yekaterina Samutsevich , was released in 2012 . The three members were sentenced to prison after performing a song critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin in one of the Russian Orthodox Church 's most important cathedrals in February 2012 . The performance was carried out in a flash-mob style . Meanwhile , the Russian state-run media agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday that Russian athlete Alexei Sobolev sported an image on his snowboard resembling `` a female figure in a balaclava wielding a knife . '' That image purports to resemble members of Pussy Riot because the anti-Putin , all-female band perform while wearing balaclavas , the news agency reported . The headline stated : `` Sochi Snowboarder Coy on Possible Pussy Riot Protest . '' When asked if the design was an homage to Pussy Riot , Sobolev responded : `` Anything is possible . '' He added : `` I was n't the designer . '' Sobolev , a slopestyle rider , was also the first Russian to compete in the Winter Olympics in Sochi , Russia , and finished 10th in a qualifying heat Thursday . The drawing on his snowboard was described as `` what could be the first protest by an athlete '' in the games , the Russian news agency said . CNN 's Brian Walker contributed to this report .
U.S. , Russian ambassadors to U.N. exchange words over ' Riot , prison term . Three members of punk rock band Pussy Riot recently served Russian prison terms . A Russian skater has an apparent Pussy Riot image on his snowboard , agency says . ` ` Anything is possible , '' Winter ##man says , adding , ` ` I was n't the ' ''