US journalist Evan Gershkovich and a Russian intelligence colonel jailed for a Berlin murder were among two dozen prisoners freed Thursday in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.
The intricate multinational deal that freed the Wall Street Journal reporter and others including former US marine Paul Whelan involved months of secret negotiations, and finally ended with a dramatic exchange on the airport tarmac in Turkey’s capital Ankara
Overjoyed family members appeared at the White House alongside US President Joe Biden, who said they’d been able to phone their freed loved ones from the Oval Office.
“Their brutal ordeal is over,” Biden told a news conference.
Biden called the leaders of allies Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway to thank them for agreeing to free Russian prisoners under the deal, and Turkey for agreeing to host the handover.
“They made bold and brave decisions” to release Russians held for espionage and other crimes in return for the Westerners and Russian dissidents and human rights activists, he said.
In total, 10 Russians — including two minors — were exchanged for 16 Westerners and Russians imprisoned in Russia, said a statement released by the Turkish presidency.
Among those returning to Moscow was Vadim Krasikov, a Russian intelligence agent imprisoned in Germany for killing a former Chechen rebel commander in a brazen assassination.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the “difficult” swap had “saved lives.”
President Vladimir Putin gave the Russian prisoners a red carpet welcome at Moscow airport, embracing them as they descended from their plane, TV images showed.
“I want to congratulate you on your return to the motherland,” Putin said.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, were to greet the freed US prisoners outside Washington later in the day.
