U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hugged journalist Evan Gershkovich on Thursday as he and two other Americans arrived back on US soil after being freed by Russia in a huge prisoner swap conducted in Türkiye’s capital, Ankara
Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich, former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were 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, where he and Harris welcomed the freed prisoners at around 11:40 pm (0340 GMT).
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 U.S. residency, was also among those freed but was returning separately to the United States.
Turkish intelligence successfully coordinated the historic prisoner swap between the countries.
The swap involved 26 prisoners from the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus. The operation saw 10 prisoners, including two children, being sent to Russia, 13 to Germany, and three to the U.S.
Biden expressed his gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the phone for Türkiye’s efforts.
Biden also thanked allies on social media.
“I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome—including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey,” Biden wrote on X.
White House National Security Council Adviser Jake Sullivan said that nations were “critical” to securing the deal and the U.S. is “deeply grateful to Türkiye for providing the critical logistic support that has made this deal possible.”
Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, praised allies’ support and said Washington appreciates the Turkish government.
“We are thankful for Türkiye’s role as it relates to that (the swap deal),” U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
“Türkiye continues to be a vital partner and ally, and we will work with them on a tremendous deal of things, but I’m not going to speak to the specifics of this process,” he added.
U.S. Ambassador in Ankara Jeffrey Flake expressed gratitude Thursday to Türkiye for facilitating the prisoner exchange.
Flake posted a message on X saying, “I am thrilled that wrongfully detained Americans are now free and reunited with their families, and I am grateful to the Government of Türkiye for extraordinary support in making today possible.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the country’s freed citizens on Thursday.
The Kremlin released a video of Putin at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport personally greeting the Russian citizens who returned to Moscow, after which he held a meeting that was attended by top Russian officials.
On Thursday, both the EU and NATO welcomed the exchange.
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