American journalist Evan Gershkowitz and ex-Marine Paul Wallan returned to the United States on Thursday, hours after being freed by Russia in the largest prisoner swap between the two countries since the Cold War.
The White House said it negotiated trade with Russia, Germany and three other countries. The deal, which was worked out in secret for more than a year, involved 24 prisoners — 16 moved from Russia to the West and eight sent back to Russia from the West.
Among them was Vadim Krashikov, who was convicted of murdering an exiled dissident in Berlin, the German government said.
US President Joe Biden hailed the deal as a “feat of diplomacy and friendship” and praised Washington’s allies for their “bold and brave decisions”.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, excited by the occasion, greeted freed Americans Gershkowitz, Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, as well as Russian dissident and US resident Vladimir Kara-Murza, as they arrived at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, a little before midnight.
The president removed his pin and handed it to Whelan as he stepped off the Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft.
The deal gives the Biden-Harris administration a marquee diplomatic success with the presidential campaign, bringing Harris with Republican former President Donald Trump just three months apart.
Harris, poised to be the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out of the race last month, praised his leadership for pulling together the complex prisoner exchange, telling reporters on the tarmac that it was a testament to American leadership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met the prisoners returning to Russia upon their arrival in Moscow, saying they would be awarded state awards.
The swap also represents a victory for Putin, who had said he wanted Krasikov back. Their homeland “had not forgotten you for a moment,” he told the returnees to Russia.
Krasikov is a colonel in Russia’s FSB security service who was serving a life sentence for killing an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in a Berlin park.
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