Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan freed in US and Russia prisoner swap

#russia #evangershkovich #paulwhelan #news

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The United States and Russia carried out a historic prisoner exchange Thursday when two dozen detainees, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were released as part of a sweeping deal that involved at least seven countries.

Thursday’s massive swap was the result of years of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the US, Russia, Belarus and Germany, ultimately leading Berlin to agree to release Moscow’s key demand – convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov.

A total of eight people including Krasikov were swapped back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including four Americans. In addition to Whelan and Gershkovich, prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were also freed.

President Joe Biden gathered the families of Whelan, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza at the White House on Thursday to relay the news that their loved ones were heading home, Sullivan said.

Sullivan described the negotiations as “painstaking, ” and made all the more complicated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and “the overall degradation of our relations with Russia.” The negotiations, which initially focused on securing the release of Paul Whelan, were made even more difficult when the Russians detained Gershkovich and Kurmasheva.