Feat of diplomacy, says Joe Biden on prisoner swap

President Joe Biden and V-P Kamala Harris greet reporter Evan Gershkovich at Andrews Air Force Base on Friday

US President Joe Biden welcomed the prisoner exchange deal between West and Moscow, which will see the return of four Americans detained in Russia, terming it a "feat of diplomacy." The United States and Russia carried out a historic prisoner exchange on Thursday, under which, two dozen detainees, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, are being released, CNN reported.

Released reporter Evan Gershkovich speaks with his mother after returning. Pics/AFP

In addition to Whelan and Gershkovich, prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were also freed. "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," President Biden said in a statement.

"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.

Swap shows how journalists risk being used as bargaining chips

The photo of returning prisoners in an American plane, all grinning from ear to ear, says it all: the joy, the relief and the success of an incredibly complicated mission. The freeing of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio Free Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a host of others is the biggest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War. In all, 26 people from seven different countries were freed in a mindbogglingly complex agreement that took years to negotiate.

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