Evan Gershkovich served 16 months in a Russian prison before being released on Thursday in the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, led by the Biden administration.
Nearly two weeks ago, Biden announced to the world that he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. But just before making that decision, the president called Harris in Slovenia, asking her to help finalize the historic prisoner swap.
The exchange included Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan, Russian-American journalist Ars Kurmaseva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a legal permanent resident. As a condition of exchange, Vladimir Putin demanded that Russia release his hit man, Vadim Krasikov.
Krasikov, who used the alias Vadim Sokolov, had been detained by German authorities after being convicted by a German court of assassinating a former Chechen commander near the Reichstag in Berlin in 2019.
Putin assassin likely biggest prize in Russian prison swap: ‘high-value asset’
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was released from a Russian prison on Thursday in a historic prisoner swap. (The Wall Street Journal)
President Biden had to persuade German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to ultimately agree to Krasikov’s release. The Turkish government helped transfer the prisoner.
“I don’t think anyone on the U.S. side has a full contextual understanding of why the Russians gave Krasikov special treatment,” a senior administration official told Fox News.
“Look at the FSB. [Federal Security Service] “He has ties to the Russian government and is a hired assassin ordered by the Russian government to carry out the assassination. This guy is a bad guy, he’s part of Russian intelligence. They clearly considered him an asset and wanted him back. Freeing him was no small thing for the German government,” the official said.
“There were a lot of difficult decisions in this exchange, but Krasikov’s was certainly one of the toughest the leaders have had to make,” another official said.
Biden calls Russian prisoner swap deal that freed WSJ’s Gershkovich and Whelan a “diplomatic feat”
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke about the release of four people who were being held in Russia – Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Arus Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza – at a short event at the White House, attended by several of their relatives. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
“This agreement would not have been possible without our allies, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Turkey. They all stood up and supported us,” Biden said Thursday at the White House. “They stood with us, they made bold and courageous decisions, they released prisoners that were being held in their countries with legitimate support, they provided the logistical support to bring Americans home. So, while some may wonder whether allies matter, they do. They matter.”
Sullivan confirmed at a press conference Thursday that no money or sanctions were involved in the exchange.
‘Dangerous message’: Top Republican expresses concern about trading Americans for ‘real Russian criminals’
Evan Gershkovich, Ars Kurmaseva and Paul Whelan smile on board an airplane after being released from a Russian prison in a historic prisoner swap, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (U.S. Government)
Asked whether the historic prisoner swap would give adversaries an incentive to capture more Americans, Sullivan said, “That’s an issue we wrestle with every time we consider the difficult decisions involved in such an exchange.”
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“It’s difficult to deport a convicted criminal to secure the release of an innocent American. But sometimes you have to choose between doing that or putting that individual in the hands of a hostile foreign country or a hostile power to spend the rest of their life in prison. So, from our perspective, we assessed and analyzed that risk and determined that the benefits of reintegrating Americans, of bringing people home and justifying the idea that the president of the United States and the United States government will do what is necessary to secure the protection and release of innocent Americans outweigh the risks. And so we proceeded,” Sullivan said.
