Last Updated on 02/08/2024 by wccexam Desk
Russia released an American journalist Ivan Gershkovich and a former US Marine Paul Whelan on Thursday as part of a prisoner exchange agreement involving several countries. Now he has also shared a photo with the family of Ivan, Paul, Vladimir Kara from the Oval Office and he has given credit to his allies for the release of the prisoners. Biden called the prisoner exchange a powerful example of why it is important to have friends in this world.
Now information is coming that after the exchange of prisoners with Russia, three American citizens Ivan Gershkovich, Alsou Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan have reached America. They have been welcomed by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The US President expressed his happiness by sharing a picture with the families of the released persons on the social media platform X and wrote, Today I stood with the families of Paul, Ivan, Alsou and Vladimir in the Oval Office. When they spoke to their family members for the first time after being released. These families never lost hope and in this hope they will be reunited with their families.
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No money transaction took place in the exchange of prisoners
At the same time, US Presidential Security Advisor Jay Sullivan said that this is the largest exchange of prisoners between East and West countries since the Cold War and no money has been exchanged in the exchange of these prisoners. No sanctions have been imposed to facilitate this agreement.
Ivan Gorshkovich is a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter who was arrested by Russia on charges of espionage in March last year. Former US Navy sailor Paul Whelan was arrested in Moscow in 2018 on charges of espionage. Russian-American journalist Alsou Kurmasheva was accused of spreading false information about the Russian army. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a vocal critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2023. Let us tell you that Vladimir has dual citizenship of Britain and Russia.
Two years of diplomacy
According to the news agency Reuters, 16 people have been released in this historic prisoner exchange between Russia, the US and their allies. The release of these people took more than two years, which included secret negotiations and diplomacy involving Germany, Russia and the US.
According to news agency Reuters, this prisoner deal is the largest swap between Russia and the US in post-Soviet history. The deal took place in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. According to Turkish officials, 10 prisoners, including two minors, were taken to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the US. Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on charges of espionage. The US government denied this. He was later sentenced to 16 years in a high-security Russian prison. Apart from the US and Russia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus were also involved in this agreement.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)