Biden burnishes legacy as freed citizens return
Published on: Saturday, August 03, 2024
By: AFP
Their arrival on US soil was met by cheers from family and friends. Gershkovich smiled with his hands on his hips as he stepped onto the runway near Washington, before hugging Biden and Harris and speaking with them for around a minute.
SAN ANTONIO: Last month, President Joe Biden said that he had “no higher priority” than gaining the release of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan from Russian prison.
On Thursday, after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, arm-twisting and manoeuvring, he accomplished that task.
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The multilateral exchange of 24 prisoners with Russia – the largest such swap since the Cold War – represents a significant feather in the cap of a man who abandoned his re-election bid less than two weeks ago.
Like many in the waning days of their White House tenures, Biden has found that foreign policy is one area where a president, even when sidelined from electoral politics, can make a splash.
Journalist Gershkovich and two other Americans touched down in Texas on Friday for medical checks, after being freed by Russia in a huge prisoner swap.
Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich, former US marine Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva had hours earlier been greeted by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during a brief stopover near Washington.
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Their arrival on US soil late Thursday was met by cheers from family and friends as they disembarked a plane, before each embracing Biden and Harris.
“It feels wonderful, it was a long time coming,” Biden told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
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They were among two dozen detainees released earlier Thursday in the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War.
A fourth freed prisoner, Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian Kremlin critic with US residency, was also among those freed but was returning separately to the United States.
In total 10 Russians, including two minors, were traded for 16 Westerners and Russians imprisoned in Russia in a dramatic exchange on the airport tarmac in Turkey’s capital Ankara.
“Alliances make a difference. They stepped up and took a chance for us,” Biden said of the deal, which also involved Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Belarus on the other side.
Harris, who is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped out of the 2024 election, heralded “an extraordinary day.”
The freed prisoners then travelled onwards with their relatives to San Antonio, Texas, for medical evaluations at the Brooke Army Medical Center.
After stepping off the plane they posed for a group photo in a hanger, before staff briefed them on the plans.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my family down here and just recuperating from five years, seven months and five days of just absolute nonsense by the Russian government,” Whelan said.
The 54-year-old praised US officials who “worked tirelessly” and thanked his supporters.
“I’m glad I’m home. I’m never going back there again,” Whelan laughed.
The most high profile prisoner was Gershkovich, 32, who was detained in Russia in March 2023 on a reporting trip and sentenced in July to 16 years in prison on spying charges that were denounced by the United States.
Gershkovich smiled with his hands on his hips as he stepped onto the runway near Washington, before hugging Biden and Harris and speaking with them for around a minute.
“Not bad,” he replied as he greeted fellow journalists who asked how it felt to finally be home.
Gershkovich’s family said in a statement before his arrival that they had “waited 491 days for Evan’s release.”
“We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close,” they said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier given his own hero’s welcome to the freed prisoners from his country, in a mirror image of the ceremony that would unfold in the US.
The historic swap happened after months of top secret negotiations and involved the release of Russians held for murder, espionage and other crimes.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the swap was “difficult” but had “saved lives.”
Berlin agreed to take a total of 12 detainees, including five with German nationality.
Among them is Rico Krieger, a German who was sentenced to death in Belarus on espionage charges before a reprieve this week.
Speculation about a deal had swirled for days after several detainees had disappeared from the prison system, but there was no confirmation until they finally switched planes in Ankara.
“We held our breath and crossed our fingers,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
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