Biden speaks on prisoner swap with Russia

Addressing the country after a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia, President Joe Biden said it was a “feat of diplomacy” that brought home a handful of citizens and residents, adding multiple countries worked together to get it done.

Biden spoke shortly before 11:30 a.m. Thursday and was joined by relatives of the freed Americans.

The U.S. president said he and the families had spoken to their relatives by phone from the Oval Office minutes before his address. Biden called the release an “incredible relief” for the families and a feat of diplomacy.

Biden said the work to bring home those wrongfully detained began during his transition into the presidency. And he said his administration has brought home 70 Americans, “many since before I took office.”

News of the biggest prisoner swap between the two countries in post-Soviet history broke Thursday morning. During the exchange, Moscow released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan in a multinational deal that set some two-dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place.

The trade followed years of secretive back-channel negotiations despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The sprawling deal, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps negotiated between Russia and the U.S. in the last two years but the first to require significant concessions from other countries, was heralded by President Joe Biden as a diplomatic achievement in the final months of his administration. But the release of Americans has come at a price: Russia has secured the freedom of its own nationals convicted of serious crimes in the West by trading them for journalists, dissidents and other Westerners convicted and sentenced in a highly politicized legal system on charges the U.S. considers bogus.

Biden issued the following statement shortly after 10:30 a.m. CT regarding the exchange:

“Today, three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia—including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.

I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome— including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer.

And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.

Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.”

Republicans in the Senate welcomed the news but also pointed out the deal came at a cost for the U.S.

Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement, “While I am glad to see the return of these wrongfully detained Americans, we must not forget those who were left behind: Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina. The United States paid a steep price for this exchange, as those returning to Russia are some of Putin’s most valuable assets who will be glad to return to their villainous ways.”

Other federal officials sounded off on the exchange, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken:

Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva are now on their way back to the United States from Russia. Through the extraordinary efforts of countless people in the State Department and across our government, the United States was able to strike an agreement to secure their freedom, as well as that of Vladimir Kara-Murza and twelve others held prisoner inside Russia.

We are grateful for the support we had from a number of our allies who made this deal possible, in particular Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia. We further appreciate the Turkish government providing a location for the safe return of these individuals to the United States and Germany.

Through many difficult conversations over the past several years, I told the families of those wrongfully detained in Russia that we would not forget them. I know there are many times over those years where they have wondered if our work would ever bear fruit. But I also know that they never gave up hope, and neither did we.

Under President Biden’s leadership, we have secured the release of dozens of Americans who were held hostage or wrongfully detained. My pledge to the families of those still separated from their families is the same that I made to those returning home today. We will not forget you, and we will not rest until you see your loved ones again.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.