President Biden, VP Harris Greet Freed Russian Prisoners

Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greeted three former Russian political prisoners released as part of a massive swap on Thursday.

On Thursday (Aug. 1), three former prisoners in Russia arrived at Joint Air Base Andrews in Maryland before midnight, where they were greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were released as part of a historic swap of prisoners between the U.S., Russia, Belarus, and other Western nations. Twenty-four people were freed overall in the largest exchange since the Cold War.

All three hugged and shook hands with President Biden and Vice President Harris in the emotional scene as their respective families came up to tearfully embrace them. The other prisoners freed in the deal included Russian dissidents such as Vladimir Kara-Murza. Russia received eight people, including four spies held in Norway and Slovenia and a convicted assassin serving time in Germany. Biden addressed the reporters on the tarmac, revealing that Slovenia’s inclusion and assistance was crucial to getting the swap done. Harris thanked President Biden for his commitment to making the exchange happen. “This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy,” she said.

The exchange caught the world by surprise and marked another achievement for the Biden administration in its last months in office. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump derided the move in an interview with Fox Business. “As usual, it was a win for Putin or any other country that deals with us,” he began. “But we got somebody back. So, I’m never going to be challenging that. It wouldn’t have happened with us, we would have gotten it back.” 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said to reporters on Thursday that the current sanctions on Russia have not been loosened, and there was no money exchanged in the swap. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby dismissed Trump’s statement in an interview, noting that Whelan and another former prisoner, Trevor Reed, were detained under the Trump administration and freed under Biden. “That’s what you have to do when you have people in harm’s way over there. You’ve got to make these tough decisions. It’s not easy,” he said.