American journalist Evan Gershkovich and a Russian intelligence colonel jailed for a murder in Berlin were among two dozen prisoners freed Thursday in the biggest prisoner exchange between East and West since the Cold War.
The intricate multinational deal that freed the Wall Street Journal reporter and others, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, involved months of secret negotiations and ultimately ended with a dramatic exchange on the tarmac at the airport in Turkey's capital, Ankara.
Overjoyed relatives appeared at the White House alongside US President Joe Biden, who said they had been able to call their freed loved ones from the Oval Office.
“Their brutal ordeal is over,” Biden said at a news conference.
Biden called the leaders of allies Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway to thank them for agreeing to release the Russian prisoners under the deal, and Turkey for agreeing to host the handover.
“They made bold and courageous decisions” to release Russians held for espionage and other crimes in exchange for Westerners, 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, according to a statement released by the Turkish presidency.
Among those returning to Moscow was Vadim Krasikov, a Russian intelligence agent jailed in Germany for killing a former Chechen rebel commander in a brazen assassination.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the “difficult” exchange had “saved lives”.
'The biggest hug'
President Vladimir Putin gave a red-carpet welcome to the Russian prisoners at Moscow airport, hugging them as they stepped off the plane, television footage showed.
“I would like to congratulate you on your return home,” Putin said.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, were expected to greet freed American prisoners outside Washington later in the day.
The Wall Street Journal said it was “overwhelmed with relief” at the release of Gershkovich, 32, who was detained in Russia in March 2023 during a reporting trip and sentenced in July to 16 years in prison on espionage charges that were denounced by the United States.
“We can't wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet, brave smile up close,” Gershkovich's family said in a statement.
Biden later posted a photo of a smiling Gershkovich and other detainees on a plane.
The group also included Whelan, who was detained in 2018 and had previously complained of being abandoned by Washington, and another American journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian Kremlin critic based in the United States, was also among those freed.
Biden, who scored a major diplomatic success in his final six months in office after ending his re-election bid, described his Russia convictions as “show trials.”
Speculation about a deal had been circulating for days after several detainees disappeared from the prison system, but there was no confirmation until they finally changed planes in Ankara.
“We held our breath and crossed our fingers,” said US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
'Pawns'
The White House led months of behind-the-scenes negotiations with Russia despite tensions over Ukraine, but also had to rely on European allies reluctant to hand convicted criminals back to Moscow.
Biden even called the Slovenian prime minister an hour before his surprise withdrawal from the July 21 election to press for the release of two Russians.
A total of 12 prisoners released by Russia will go to Germany, including opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who had been jailed for criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
They also include Rico Krieger, a German who was sentenced to death in Belarus on espionage charges before being granted a pardon this week.
The swap was the first between Russia and the West since American basketball star Brittney Griner returned home in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022.
It is the biggest exchange since 2010, when 14 suspected spies were exchanged, including double agent Sergei Skripal, sent by Moscow to Britain, and Russian undercover agent Anna Chapman, sent by Washington to Russia.
Before that, only during the Cold War had there been large exchanges involving more than a dozen people; the Soviet and Western powers carried out exchanges in 1985 and 1986.
The White House revealed that an even more ambitious deal was in the works with attempts to negotiate the release of Putin opponent Alexei Navalny before he died in February this year.
Despite the rare moment of cooperation, Biden said he “didn't need to talk” to the Kremlin leader.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders said it was “enormously relieved”, while Amnesty International said the exchange showed Putin was using “political prisoners as pawns”.
