Washington— President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet each other three Americans released by Russia in a complex prisoner exchange involving 24 people detained in six countries when they arrived on US soil last Friday.
The plane carrying the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan GershkovichVeteran Marine Paul Whelan and a Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after they were released as part of a swap that also involved Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Norway.
Vladimir Kara-Murzaa US green card holder and Kremlin critic, was also released, but chose to go to Germany, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
As part of the deal, Russia released 16 prisoners while Western countries freed eight Russians. The prisoners were sold on the tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday.
The first to exit the plane was Whelan, then Gershkovich and then Kurmasheva. The three were seen warmly greeting the president and vice president on the tarmac before being greeted by family and friends with hugs and applause.
Getty Images
Along with family members of the detained Americans, about a dozen Wall Street Journal employees gathered on the tarmac to welcome their colleagues.
“It’s the hardest call for other countries, because I’m asking them to do some things that are directly against their personal interests,” Mr. Biden told reporters on the tarmac. “And it was very difficult for them, especially Germany and Slovenia. Slovenia came at the last minute, and I tell you, the (German) Chancellor was incredible.”
Harris also praised Mr. Biden to reporters, calling the swap “tremendous evidence of the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy.”
“It was an incredible day, I could see it in the family, in their eyes and the tears,” he added.
Getty Images
At statement from the White House earlier in the day, Mr. Biden said the relationship of the United States with allies is “important” to secure the freedom of prisoners after several months of difficult negotiations.
“Now, the brutal ordeal is over and we are free,” he said, standing next to his family.
Whelan and Gershkovich were jailed in Russia on spying charges that their families and the US have vehemently denied. The U.S. considers both sides wrongfully detained.
Kurmasheva was arrested in June 2023 on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military.
Whelan was not included in two previous prisoner swaps involving Americans Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner, both of whom were detained after their arrests in 2018. The US said that it pushed them to enter the two exchanges, but Russia refused. This led to Whelan lobbying for his release from the remote prison camp, calling government officials and journalists to ensure he was not forgotten.
Whelan and his family fear that Gershkovich’s arrest in March 2023 will complicate his release and that he could be released a third time.
In mid-July, hesitating to reveal the details of where negotiations with Russia stand, Roger Carstens, the nation’s chief hostage diplomat, said the US was intending to bring both Gershkovich and Whelan home.
“I know Evan and Paul will come home to the United States and enter US soil. I just don’t know when,” he said during an interview at the Aspen Security Forum on July 17.
Two weeks later, a US government plane carrying the two men and Kurmasheva landed in Maryland.
