Biden, Harris greet freed Americans in U.S. after historic prisoner swap
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President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greet Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich late on Thursday, Aug. 1 after he was freed from a Russian prison following a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Freed Americans Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva arrived in the U.S. late Thursday after being released in a historic prisoner exchange with Russia earlier in the day.
The big picture: President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris joined families and others at Joint Base Andrews to welcome Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich, ex-U.S. Marine Whelan and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Kurmasheva, who's a U.S.-Russian citizen.
- They were among 16 prisoners swapped for eight Russian prisoners in what has been described as the biggest exchange since the end of the Cold War between Russia and the West.
State of play: Gershkovich, 32, walked up to waiting reporters at the Maryland airbase and when asked how it felt to finally be home, he smiled and replied: "It's not bad."
- Biden praised allies including Germany and Slovenia for their role in negotiations to free the prisoners.
- "The toughest call on this one was for other countries, because I asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self-interests and it was very difficult for them to do," Biden told reporters.
- Harris told reporters it had been an "extraordinary day" and said their release was "testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy."
- Biden earlier posted video to X of himself in the White House with families speaking over the phone to the freed prisoners that included Russian opposition activist and Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza:
In photos: Freed Americans arrive in Maryland
Go deeper... Gershkovich's release request: An interview with Putin
Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
