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1 month ago
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President Joe Biden celebrated the release of Americans held in Russia, including journalist Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine and security director Paul Whelan, calling the deal that made it possible “a feat of diplomacy and friendship.”
“Multiple countries helped get this done,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “They joined a difficult, complex negotiation at my request.” He cited Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey.
“They all stepped up,” he said.
Also freed were Alsu Kurmasheva, and columnist and dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
His remarks were carried across major news networks as well as CBS and ABC, while NBC was in the midst of Olympics coverage.
Biden said that Russia released a total of 16 prisoners — including four Americans, five Germans and seven Russian citizens who are political prisoners — in exchange for eight Russians being held in the west.
“Anyone who questions whether allies matter — they do. They matter,” said Biden, making what may have been an indirect reference to Donald Trump, who has promoted a more transactional foreign policy.
“We stand for freedom and liberty and justice, not only for our own people, but for others as well,” Biden said.
Biden was flanked by the former prisoners’ family members. At one point, he started a singing of Happy Birthday to mark the birthday of the daughter of Kurmasheva.
Biden singled out the chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, for making “significant concessions” that they “originally concluded they could not do because of the person in question.” That was Vadim Krasikov, an assassin who had been serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of a Chechen dissident.
“But everybody stepped up,” Biden repeated.
The president also was asked about Trump’s claim that “he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange.”
“Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Biden asked.
