{"id":2317777,"date":"2024-08-01T18:53:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-01T22:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-implications-of-the-wide-ranging-russia-prisoner-deal-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-01T18:56:27","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T22:56:27","slug":"the-implications-of-the-wide-ranging-russia-prisoner-deal-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-implications-of-the-wide-ranging-russia-prisoner-deal-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"The implications of the wide-ranging Russia prisoner deal &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-implications-of-the-wide-ranging-russia-prisoner-deal-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2317777&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses\u200b a significant prisoner exchange agreement involving the \u200cBiden administration, \u200bwhich has been in negotiation with European allies for several months. \u2063The deal, announced by President Joe Biden, entails the release of numerous\u2062 prisoners, including four Americans, four Germans, and several Russian political\u200c dissidents, in exchange for eight Russians imprisoned in the \u200cWest. This marks the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/west-and-russia-agree-to-largest-prisoner-swap-since-cold-war-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"West and Russia agree to largest prisoner swap since Cold War - Washington Examiner\">largest prisoner swap<\/a> between Russia and the West since the \u200bCold War.<\/p>\n<p>Key individuals released include Paul Whelan, a former Marine,\u2064 Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio \u2064Free Europe journalist Alsu\u2062 Kurmasheva, and \u2064Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza. The deal also\u2064 involved the \u2064release of Vadim Krasikov, a former FSB officer convicted of murder, underscoring the complexities of the negotiations. Biden emphasized the collaborative \u200cefforts of European allies, especially German Chancellor Olaf \u2064Scholz, in facilitating this agreement. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the \u2063successful exchanges, concerns persist regarding the implications of such deals, particularly the risks associated with &#8220;hostage diplomacy&#8221; where foreign entities might exploit the situation \u200bto gain leverage over the US. Critics, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers,\u2062 have expressed apprehension about releasing dangerous criminals in exchange for\u2064 American detainees,\u200b highlighting the delicate \u2064balance in international negotiations involving captured citizens.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The implications of the wide-ranging Russia prisoner deal<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1720994\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Biden administration<\/a> spent several months working with European allies to configure an arrangement that would entice the Kremlin into releasing several foreigners, including Americans, and political dissidents who were in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Russian<\/a> prisons.<\/p>\n<p>The culmination of those months of back and forth became a reality on Wednesday when President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Joe Biden<\/a> announced the impending return of several Americans, while some details of the deal may still trickle out. <\/p>\n<p>The United States, Germany, Slovenia, and Norway all agreed to release a total of eight Russians, all of whom had been arrested and in some cases charged and sentenced, in exchange for the release of 16 people, including four Americans, four Germans, and seven Russian political prisoners. Belarus also released a German individual as a part of the deal. The prisoners held in Russia flew to Ankara, Turkey, bringing another country in the execution of the deal.<\/p>\n<p>The deal amounts to the largest exchange of prisoners between Russia and the West since the Cold War.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Joe Biden, right, reaches out to hold hands with Elizabeth Whelan, left, as he delivers remarks on a prisoner swap with Russia from the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The U.S. secured the release of three Americans and a green card holder: Paul Whelan, a former Marine who was first detained in 2018; Evan Gershkovich, a <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> reporter; Alsu Kurmasheva, a reporter for Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, and Russian dissident and journalist Vladimir Kara-Marza.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The execution phase of this, to get this level of coordination together to have those planes all land on the tarmac at the same time from multiple different countries, with so many different <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbs-shows-congressmens-photos-of-migrants-detained-under-bridge-notes-biden-blocked-reporters-access\/\" title=\"CBS Shows Congressmen\u2019s Photos Of Migrants Detained Under Bridge, Notes Biden \u2018Blocked\u2019 Reporters\u2019 Access\">individuals coming<\/a> from Russia and going back to Russia, really extraordinary,&rdquo; U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Vadim Krasikov is viewed as Russia&rsquo;s prized return for the large swap. The former high-ranking FSB colonel was convicted of murdering a former Chechen fighter in Berlin in 2019 and was later sentenced to life in prison. His inclusion in a deal was critical to securing Russia&rsquo;s willingness to do this proposal.<\/p>\n<p>Sullivan said after several rounds of negotiating, it became apparent that Krasikov was &ldquo;a key.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. and Kremlin had agreed to two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-soldier-arrested-in-russia-sentenced-to-almost-four-years-in-prison\/\" title=\"US soldier detained in Russia receives nearly four-year prison sentence\">separate prisoner swaps<\/a> in 2020, which in totality secured the release of Brittney Griner and Trevor Reed in exchange for Konstantin Yaroshenko and a notorious arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Whelan, who was detained before Griner or Reed, was not included in either deal. The U.S. continued trying to secure his release, but Russia had indicated its desire to get Krasikov returned, pulling Germany into the negotiations at a minimum.<\/p>\n<p>The negotiations had been going on for so long that Russian dissident <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3107721\/white-house-working-for-alexei-navalny-in-prison-swap-deal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Alexei Navalny<\/a> was a part of these discussions before he died in February.<\/p>\n<p>A German government spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said they &ldquo;did not take this decision lightly&rdquo; to give him up in the deal.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &ndash; Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP Photo, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Biden, in announcing it, singled out German Chancellor Olaf Scholz&rsquo;s role in the deal as he praised the alliances and relationships between the U.S. and several European allies that made this agreement a reality.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I particularly owe a great sense of gratitude to the &mdash; the chancellor. The demands they were making of me required me to get some significant concessions from Germany, which they originally concluded they could not do because of the person in question,&rdquo; Biden said, surrounded by the families of the Americans on their way home. &ldquo;But everybody stepped up.&nbsp;Poland stepped up. Slovenia stepped up. Turkey stepped up.&nbsp;And it matters to have relationships.&nbsp;It really does. These things matter.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s unclear what incentivized the Slovenians and Norwegians to release two Russians apiece as a part of the deal.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. government faces difficult questions when considering proposals regarding the release of Americans detained abroad. Often in these cases, Americans have been unfairly arrested in foreign countries that are seeking to hold them as bargaining chips to use in negotiations, often to get convicted criminals released in return. Detractors of these deals argue that agreeing to such an arrangement further incentivizes bad actors to take more Americans to use them in more deals.<\/p>\n<p>The phenomenon is known as &ldquo;hostage diplomacy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) celebrated the release of the Americans but expressed concern that &ldquo;the&nbsp;Biden-Harris administration has allowed dangerous Russian criminals to go free, including an&nbsp;assassin&nbsp;and an operator of illicit procurement networks for the Russian military.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added that the administration &ldquo;must explain how they will deter Putin and other American adversaries from exploiting hostage-taking to exact leverage over the United States. Otherwise there will be many more innocent Americans behind bars.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said last month that the &ldquo;numbers just don&rsquo;t support&rdquo; the argument that making the deals actually results in more Americans detained overseas, noting, &ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t make these deals, people just don&rsquo;t come home. So you&rsquo;ve got to picture it; people that you love, your son, your daughter, your wife, your husband, your grandfather, they get arrested, they&rsquo;re thrown in jail and the United States says, &lsquo;well we don&rsquo;t make deals but there&rsquo;s no alternatives.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The administration was unable to secure the release of Marc Fogel, an American in a Russian prison on drug charges. Sullivan, during Thursday&rsquo;s briefing, referred to him as wrongfully detained, which was the first time a member of the administration has given him that designation and would put his case under Carsten&rsquo;s purview.<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1720994\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1720994\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The far-reaching consequences of the extensive prisoner exchange with Russia The Biden administration dedicated several months to collaborating with European partners to create a deal that would persuade the Kremlin to release various foreigners, including Americans and political dissidents held in Russian jails. This effort culminated on Wednesday when President Joe Biden announced the forthcoming return of several Americans, although some details of the agreement may still emerge. The United States, along with Germany, Slovenia, and Norway, agreed to free a total of eight Russians\u2014who had been arrested and in some cases charged or sentenced\u2014in exchange for 16 individuals, which included four Americans, four Germans, and seven Russian political prisoners. Additionally, Belarus released a German citizen as part of this arrangement. The prisoners from Russia were flown to Ankara, Turkey, involving another country in executing the deal. This exchange represents the largest prisoner swap between Russia and Western nations since the Cold War.<\/p>\n<p>President Biden acknowledged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz&#8217;s significant role in facilitating this agreement while highlighting the importance of alliances among the U.S. and its European partners that made it possible. He expressed gratitude for their cooperation: \u201cI particularly owe a great sense of gratitude to&#8230;the chancellor,\u201d he stated during remarks at the White House alongside families awaiting their loved ones&#8217; return.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S successfully negotiated for three Americans and one green card holder: Paul Whelan (a former Marine detained since 2018), Evan Gershkovich (a Wall Street Journal reporter), Alsu Kurmasheva (a Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty journalist), and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan noted that coordinating such an operation\u2014ensuring multiple planes landed simultaneously from different countries\u2014was remarkable. Vadim Krasikov was seen as a crucial figure for Russia&#8217;s participation; he is a former high-ranking FSB officer convicted of murder in Berlin who received a life sentence.<\/p>\n<p>While celebrating these releases, critics raised concerns about releasing dangerous criminals like assassins as part of such deals could encourage more hostage-taking by adversaries seeking leverage over America\u2014a practice known as &#8220;hostage diplomacy.&#8221; House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers emphasized that while he welcomed home those released Americans; there are serious implications regarding how these negotiations might embolden hostile actions against U.S citizens abroad.<\/p>\n<p>Despite challenges securing other detainees like Marc Fogel\u2014a case now recognized by Sullivan as wrongful detention\u2014the administration continues navigating complex international negotiations surrounding American hostages abroad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2671,"featured_media":2317778,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Evan_Gershkovich_99.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[3817,32402,36943,4280],"class_list":["post-2317777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-diplomacy","tag-international-relations","tag-prisoner-deal","tag-russia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Evan_Gershkovich_99.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2671"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2317778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}