Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan freed in prisoner swap with Russia

By mzaxazm


It’s the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.

The unprecedented exchange that freed Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan from Russian imprisonment early Thursday marks the culmination of years of complex, on-and-off negotiations amid steadily worsening U.S.-Russia relations.

Why We Wrote This

With little fanfare, the United States and its allies negotiated the freedom of Russian captives Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and others – and showed that diplomacy with the Kremlin may still be viable.

Mr. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, and Mr. Whelan, an ex-U.S. Marine in Russian custody since 2018, were among 26 prisoners from the United States, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia who were freed in the exchange facilitated by Turkey.

From the Oval Office and surrounded by family members of the released Americans Thursday afternoon, President Joe Biden hailed the “friendship” of “many countries” that played key roles in the painstaking negotiations.

The exchange offered a glimmer of hope for tundra-cold East-West relations – in particular the frigid links between Washington and Moscow – demonstrating that diplomacy between the two sides can still advance when both see it in their interest.

“That’s very hopeful, since there is a long list of urgent problems that might benefit from more constructive diplomacy between Russia and the U.S.,” including Ukraine and arms control, says Russian political analyst Alexey Mukhin.

The unprecedented prisoner exchange that freed Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan from Russian imprisonment early Thursday marks the culmination of years of complex, on-and-off negotiations amid steadily worsening U.S.-Russia relations.

Mr. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, and Mr. Whelan, an ex-U.S. Marine in Russian custody since 2018, were among 26 prisoners from the United States, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia who were freed in the exchange facilitated by Turkey.

It was the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, and the first since Russia and the U.S. exchanged basketball star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022.

Why We Wrote This

With little fanfare, the United States and its allies negotiated the freedom of Russian captives Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and others – and showed that diplomacy with the Kremlin may still be viable.

From the Oval Office and surrounded by family members of the released Americans Thursday afternoon, President Joe Biden hailed the prisoner exchange as a “feat of diplomacy,” underscoring the “friendship” of “many countries” that played key roles in the painstaking negotiations.

The exchange offered a glimmer of hope for tundra-cold East-West relations – in particular the frigid links between Washington and Moscow – demonstrating that diplomacy between the two sides can still advance when both see it in their interest.

“That’s very hopeful, since there is a long list of urgent problems that might benefit from more constructive diplomacy between Russia and the U.S.,” including Ukraine and arms control, says Russian political analyst Alexey Mukhin, director of the independent Center for Political Information in Moscow.



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