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EVAN GERSHKOVICH AND PAUL WHELAN RELEASED IN RUSSIA-WEST PRISONER SWAP

By Andrew Osborn, Filipp Lebedev, Lucy Papachristou, Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea
Shalal
August 2, 20243:06 PM GMT+2Updated 14 hours ago
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 * Summary
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 * U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, ex-Marine Paul Whelan freed
 * Germany frees Vadim Krasikov, convicted of killing dissident
 * 24 prisoners exchanged in total
 * Biden hails 'feat of diplomacy and friendship'
 * Kremlin says aim was to bring Russians home

MOSCOW/ANKARA/WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and
ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan returned to the United States on Thursday, hours
after being freed from Russian detention in the biggest prisoner exchange
between the two countries since the Cold War.
The White House said it negotiated the trade with Russia, Germany and three
other countries. The deal, worked on in secrecy for more than a year, involved
24 prisoners - 16 moving from Russia to the West and eight sent back to Russia
from the West.
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They included Vadim Krasikov, convicted of murdering an exiled dissident in
Berlin, the German government said.
U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the deal as "a feat of diplomacy and friendship"
and praised Washington's allies for their "bold and brave decisions."
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, buoyed by the occasion, greeted freed
Americans Gershkovich, Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva as they arrived at
Joint Base Andrews in Maryland shortly before midnight (0400 GMT).
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The president took off his lapel pin and gave it to Whelan as he got off the
Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft.
The deal gives the Biden-Harris administration a marquee diplomatic success with
the presidential campaign, pitting Harris against Republican former President
Donald Trump, barely three months away.
Harris, poised to be the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out of the race
last month, praised his leadership for bringing together the complex prisoner
swap, telling reporters on the tarmac it was a testament to American leadership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met the prisoners returning to Russia on their
arrival in Moscow, saying they would be given state awards.
The exchange also represents a victory for Putin, who had indicated he wanted
Krasikov back. Their homeland "had not forgotten you for a moment," he told the
returnees to Russia.
Krasikov is a colonel in the Russian FSB security service who was serving a life
sentence for murdering an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident in a Berlin park.



CRITICS FEAR 'DANGEROUS MESSAGE'

The multi-country deal appeared to be a one-time exchange that does not reset
the antagonistic U.S.-Russia relationship, which has deteriorated sharply since
Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
U.S. deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said Washington-Moscow ties
remain "in a very difficult place" despite the swap. "There was no trust
involved in this relationship or negotiation," Finer told broadcaster CNN.
Critics said freeing Russians convicted of serious crimes could encourage more
hostage-taking by U.S. foes.
"I remain concerned that continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual
Russian criminals held in the U.S. and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to
Putin that only encourages further hostage-taking by his regime," Michael
McCaul, the Republican chair of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, said
in a statement.
Trump, who said he did not have details of the swap, asked whether "murderers,
killers, or thugs" were released. "Just curious because we never make good
deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps," the presidential nominee said
on social media.
Also involved in the deal were Belarus, Norway, Poland and Slovenia. Turkey
coordinated the exchange.
Item 1 of 21 President Joe Biden greets Paul Whelan, who was released from
detention in Russia, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, August
1. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
[1/21]President Joe Biden greets Paul Whelan, who was released from detention in
Russia, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, August 1.
REUTERS/Nathan Howard Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

The Kremlin said in a statement its decision to pardon and free prisoners "was
made with the aim of returning Russian citizens detained and imprisoned in
foreign countries."
The last major exchange between the United States and Russia, in 2010, involved
14 prisoners.
The two countries had a high-profile exchange in December 2022, swapping U.S.
basketball star Brittney Griner - sentenced to nine years for vape cartridges
containing cannabis oil in her luggage - for arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was
serving a 25-year sentence.


EMOTIONAL REUNIONS

In the West, the dissidents are seen by governments and activists as wrongfully
detained political prisoners. All have, for different reasons, been designated
by Moscow as dangerous extremists.
Among the Westerners freed, Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was
accused of collecting sensitive military information for the CIA, a charge he
and the newspaper denied.
The White House posted an emotional two-minute video, opens new tab of the
moment the families of the U.S.-bound detainees spoke to their loved ones by
phone from the Oval Office.
"This is Momma. Do you hear me? It's your mom," Gershkovich's mother tells her
son in the clip, posted on Biden's social media account on the X platform.
Hours later, Gershkovich scooped her up and lifted her in the air as they met on
the tarmac while other family members cheered for joy.
Whelan, the former marine, was serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal
colony on espionage charges that he denied.
Rico Krieger, a German, had been sentenced to death in Belarus on terrorism
charges. He was pardoned by President Alexander Lukashenko, a close Putin ally,
before being freed.
Also released was Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist sentenced to 6-1/2
years in prison on July 19, the same day as Gershkovich, as well as Kara-Murza,
who was serving 25 years for treason after saying Putin was bombing Ukrainian
homes, hospitals and schools.
Released with them were human rights activist Oleg Orlov and Russian opposition
politician Ilya Yashin.
Many of those freed had worked with Alexei Navalny, Russia's leading opposition
figure who died in unclear circumstances in an Arctic penal colony in February.
Before his death, Navalny was meant to have been part of the exchange, said
Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
A Slovenian court on Wednesday sentenced two Russians to time served for
espionage and using fake identities and said they would be deported. Both were
among those returned to Russia, according to an official U.S. list.
Also returned to Russia and released from the U.S. were Roman Seleznev and
Vladislav Klyushin - both convicted of cyber crimes - and Vadim Konoshchenok.
Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker posted an open letter on X,
calling it a "joyous day."
(This story has been corrected to remove the reference to Kara-Murza returning
to JBA, in paragraph 5)

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start
your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Andrew Osborn in Moscow, Filipp Lebedev and Lucy Papachristou in
London, Ece Toksabay in Istanbul, Mert Ozkan in Ankara, and Trevor Hunicutt,
Andrea Shalal and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Writing by Andrew Osborn, Kevin
Liffey, Patricia Zengerle, Cynthia Osterman and Stephen Coates; Editing by Diane
Craft, William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez

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Purchase Licensing Rights
Andrew Osborn

Thomson Reuters

As Russia Chief Political Correspondent, and former Moscow bureau chief, Andrew
helps lead coverage of the world's largest country, whose political, economic
and social transformation under President Vladimir Putin he has reported on for
much of the last two decades, along with its growing confrontation with the West
and wars in Georgia and Ukraine. Andrew was part of a Wall Street Journal
reporting team short-listed for a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting. He
has also reported from Moscow for two British newspapers, The Telegraph and The
Independent.

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