Russia has freed U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan on Thursday as part of the biggest prisoner exchange of its kind since the end of the Cold War.
The White House said the U.S. had negotiated the trade with Russia, Germany and three other countries. The deal, negotiated in secrecy for more than a year, involved 24 prisoners, including 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight prisoners held in the West being sent back to Russia.
Germany confirmed they included Vadim Krasikov, convicted of murdering an exiled dissident in Berlin.
U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the deal as “a feat of diplomacy and friendship” and praised Washington’s allies for their “bold and brave decisions.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin met the prisoners returning to Russia at the airport after they landed in Moscow, and said they would be given state awards, while Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are due to greet those returning to the United States later on Thursday.
“Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world,” Biden said at the White House, flanked by relatives of freed prisoners.
Biden said he owed a particular debt of gratitude to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who made the politically difficult choice to release Krasikov.
The deal provides the Biden administration with a marquee diplomatic success as the U.S. presidential campaign, pitting Harris against former Republican President Donald Trump, enters its final months.
Still, the multi-country deal appeared to be a one-time exchange that does not reset the antagonistic U.S.-Russia relationship. Critics said the freeing of Russians convicted of serious crimes could encourage more hostage-taking by U.S. foes.
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Trump, who said he did not have details of the swap, asked whether “murderers, killers, or thugs” were released. “Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” the Republican presidential nominee said on social media.
Also involved in the deal were Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus. Turkey coordinated the exchange.
The Kremlin said Moscow’s decision to pardon and free prisoners had been made to bring Russian captives home. “The decision to sign the (pardon) decrees was made with the aim of returning Russian citizens detained and imprisoned in foreign countries,” it said in a statement.
The last major exchange between the United States and Russia in 2010 involved 14 prisoners. The two countries had a high-profile exchange in December 2022, swapping U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, sentenced to nine years for vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, for arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence.
The release of Russians convicted in the West represented a victory for Putin, who had indicated he wanted Krasikov back. Their homeland “had not forgotten you for a moment,” he told them at the airport.
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