Dozens of prisoners from seven countries have been freed in a historic exchange between Russia and the West.
The trade, enabled by Turkey, followed years of secretive talks that came even as relations between Washington and Moscow soured after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Twenty-four detainees were released from prisons in the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus.
The three Americans released are The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor at US-funded Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty who has dual US-Russian citizenship.
The freed Americans returned to US soil late at night and were welcomed by their families, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Speaking at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Mr Biden thanked allied nations, including Germany and Slovenia, for helping to co-ordinate the prisoner swap, saying they agreed to matters that were “against their self-interests".
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Journalist Evan Gershkovich greets his mother as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where he was welcomed by US President Joe Biden. AFP -
Vice President Kamala Harris welcomes Gershkovich after he was released by Russia as part of a major exchange of detainees. AP -
Mr Biden and Ms Harris with Gershkovich. The swap deal involved seven countries, including the Germany and Slovenia. Reuters -
Former US Marine Paul Whelan is greeted by Mr Biden and Ms Harris after his release from Russian detention. Reuters -
US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva embraces her daughters Miriam and Bibi as she arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. AFP -
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks at Cologne Bonn Airport after meeting detainees released in an exchange between Russia, Belarus and western nations. AP -
A Russian security officer escorts Gershkovich to a plane after his release. He had been accused of spying and was sentenced to 16 years in jail. EPA -
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes released citizens at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, after the major agreement with the West. AFP -
Mr Putin with Russian citizens released by the west. The swap deal was enabled by Turkey. AFP
Ms Harris said the deal was an “extraordinary testament to the importance of having a President who understands the power of diplomacy".
“Deals like this one come with tough calls,” Mr Biden said. "There’s nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad.”
He also rejected the idea that prisoner swaps could lead to more American citizens being detained abroad.
US permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza was also freed.
Also included in the exchange were German mercenary Rico Krieger, who was imprisoned in Belarus, Russian dissident Ilya Yashin, and Russia's FSB security service colonel Vadim Krasikov, who was imprisoned in Germany.
US President Joe Biden praised the “feat of diplomacy” and credited allies “who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome”.
The deal, which took years to achieve and required German support, started taking shape when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken first approached the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Karuizawa Japan in late April 2023, a US official said.
Turkey also co-ordinated "security measures, logistical planning and requirements of the exchange activities", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Mr Biden later called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to thank him for the country's efforts.
Initially, Washington was also trying to secure the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. But the Kremlin critic died in a Russian penal colony in February before the deal could be done.
"We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny and, unfortunately, he died," White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Mr Biden said he had spoken to the freed detainees and told them “welcome almost home”.
He said he had a “great sense of gratitude” to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, acknowledging that Berlin had to make “significant concessions”.
“For anyone that questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter … everybody stepped up,” Mr Biden said.
When asked if the swap would do anything to improve relations with Moscow, Mr Biden said he wished that were the case, but said he “doesn't need” to speak with President Vladimir Putin.
He led journalists and family members gathered in the White House in singing happy birthday to Kurmasheva's daughter, Miriam Butorin, celebrating that now she gets “to spend it with her mum”.
Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, welcomed reports of the exchange but said he was concerned that “continuing to trade innocent Americans for actual Russian criminals held in the US and elsewhere sends a dangerous message to Putin”.
It “only encourages further hostage taking by his regime”, Mr McCaul said as he called for the release of other Americans who may still be held in Russia and other countries.
Brendan Boyle, a congressman whose district is home to Gershkovich's parents, welcomed the journalist's release.
“My constituents Mikhail and Ella Gershkovich have been forced to endure the unimaginable, and I hope that their family can now begin to heal,” Mr Boyle said.
“Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan’s unjust imprisonment as hostages is yet another sobering reminder of how evil the Putin regime really is.”
A Wall Street Journal reporter shared a photo of the three freed Americans, smiling and holding an American flag.
Mr Whelan was arrested in Russia in December 2018, also on accusations of espionage.
The US had tried numerous times to secure his release, including in 2022 when women’s basketball star Brittney Griner was released in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Gershkovich had recently been sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison on spying charges.
Russian authorities claimed, without offering any evidence, that he was gathering secret information for the US.
The reporter, 32, became the first US journalist to be taken into custody in Russia on espionage charges since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986.
Gershkovich and Mr Whelan denied the charges, as did officials in Washington, who said they had been wrongfully detained.
Both their families had spent years pressing US officials for information and to help secure their releases.
Kurmasheva, the editor at Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, was detained by Russian authorities for allegedly failing to register as a foreign agent in October 2023 when she was visiting for a family emergency.
The outlet's president and chief executive Stephen Capus said that RFE/RL is “grateful to the American government and all who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia”.
Roger Wicker, the leading Republican on the Senate armed services committee, said: “This exchange speaks volumes about what our two countries value.
“Vladimir Putin is getting back a crew of thugs, murderers, and low-life criminals. The United States is welcoming home journalists, voices for democracy and former service members."
The Biden administration has given priority to bringing wrongfully detained citizens home.
In September, Washington secured the release of five US citizens held in Iran for year, in a complex deal that included the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
The James Foley Foundation said that it is “encouraged to see that this exchange includes other countries, which may indicate a greater willingness among nations to collaborate in resolving these complex cases".
“International coalitions are needed to resolve current cases more quickly and lay the groundwork for more effective and stronger means of deterrence of these continuing violations of universal human rights by state actors,” the group said.
"Russia accounts for 25 per cent of all Americans being wrongfully detained abroad. Russia’s use of humans as international bargaining chips … underscores its threat to international security and stability."
