The “biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history”, as stated by AP News, occurred yesterday. The agreement between the U.S. and Russia led to the release and safe return of two dozen people, including Paul Whelan, journalist Evan Gershkovich, and dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
The relations between Washington and Moscow are nowhere near friendly, according to AP News they’re at their “lowest point since the Cold War after…February 2022 invasion of Ukraine”. Considering this, it’s a relief that the countries accomplished the deal.
Originally, negotiators contemplated an exchange that involved Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. After his death back in February, they developed a deal that involved the 24 people mentioned above being released.
In exchange, Vladim Krasikov, who, in Germany in 2021, was convicted and sentenced to life for killing a former Chechen rebel, was released. Krasikov’s release was something Moscow insisted on throughout the deal-making process.
AP News says the deal “required significant concessions from European allies”.
These European allies included the country where Krasikov was serving out his sentence: Germany. National security adviser Jake Sullivan continuously pushed and encouraged the country to release Krasikov. Germany agreed and, in return, a handful of prisoners released from Russia were German nationals or dual German-Russian nationals.
Norway and Poland also returned Russian citizens, one arrested on suspicion of being a spy and the other detained on espionage charges, respectively. Russia also saw the return of two supposed sleeper agents from Slovenia and three men charged by federal authorities in the U.S.
In total, six countries were involved in the prisoner exchange. One more, Turkey, hosted the swap in Ankara.
On the deal, Biden said, “Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world”.
The deal might not have been reached if Germany hadn’t agreed to release Krasikov, or it would’ve been much more difficult to achieve, further emphasizing Biden’s comment.
The released U.S. citizens, including Whelan and Gerskovich, returned to American soil a little before midnight and reunited with their families at Joint Base Andrews, where they were offered medical treatment. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were there as well, welcoming the citizens back home.
