US-Russia prisoner swap: US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed four newly freed prisoners from Russia, including American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former marine Paul Whelan, after the largest prisoner swap in post-Cold War history. The plane carrying four Americans freed from Russian imprisonment landed at the Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on Thursday (local time), where their families waited in earnest.
The prisoners included US journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual US-Russia citizenship, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian political activist, journalist, author and filmmaker who was detained in April 2022, along with Gershkovich and Whelan. They were received by Biden, Harris and their overwhelmed families who had been waiting for their release for years.
How many prisoners released?
The White House said the US 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.
Biden hailed the deal as "a feat of diplomacy and friendship" and praised Washington's allies - including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey - for their "bold and brave decisions." The prisoner swap also included five Germans and seven Russian citizens.
"I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home," said Biden 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 US 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.
Tears in White House as families speak to freed prisoners
Meanwhile, the Oval Office in the White House saw jubilation and tears of joy as the families of Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza spoke by phone to their loved ones for the first time in year, as per a White House video shown on Thursday. "This is momma. Do you hear me? It's your mom," Gershkovich's mother tells her son, a Wall Street Journal reporter, in the emotional two-minute video.
"We just want to say how overwhelmed we are," Biden tells the released detainees as the families stand around the presidential Resolute Desk. "You've been wrongfully detained for a long time, and we are glad you are home." Speaking to his family, Kara-Murza said, "No word is strong enough for this. I was sure I was going to die in prison. I still think I am sleeping in my prison cell in Omsk instead of hearing your voice."
A boost for Biden
The deal provided the Biden administration with a marquee diplomatic success as the US presidential campaign pitted Harris against former Republican President Donald Trump, entering its final months. However, the multi-country deal appeared to be a one-time exchange that did not reset the antagonistic US-Russia relationship.
Reacting to the swap, Trump 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. Critics of the deal said the freeing of Russians convicted of serious crimes could encourage more hostage-taking by US foes.
Russia welcomes prisoners released from West
Other high-profile prisoners released are Vadim Krasikov, convicted of murdering an exiled dissident in Berlin, German national Rico Krieger, human rights activist Oleg Orlov and Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin. Russian President Vladimir Putin met the prisoners returning to Russia on their arrival in Moscow, saying they would be given state awards.
Two men convicted of cyber crimes in the United States, Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznyov, were also released as part of the deal. "First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on your return to the Motherland. Now I would like to address those of you who have a direct connection to military service. I want to thank you for your loyalty to your oath and your duty to your Motherland, which has never forgotten you for a moment," Putin said.
Meanwhile, Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said the moment Gershkovich walked free from a Russian plane was a great joy for the reporter and his family, and that the publication has set in place a plan to ensure he is properly supported once he returns to the US. "We have waited 491 days for Evan’s release, and it’s hard to describe what today feels like. We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close," said Gershkovich's family.
Gershkovich, 32, was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a secretive and rapid trial last month, after he was accused of collecting classified information on the orders of the US Central Intelligence Agency about a company that manufactures tanks for Russia's war in Ukraine He denied any charges and the US denounced the trial as "politically motivated".
(with inputs from agencies)
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