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☆ Joint Base Andrews: Three freed Americans back on US soil in Maryland after historic prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Elizabeth Whelan hugs her brother Paul Whelan at Joint Base Andrews following his release from a Russian prison. Alex Brandon/APPresident Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris walk with family members of the returning Americans to greet them at Joint Base Andrews. Today, their agony is over,” said Biden, who hosted the families of Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza at the White House. Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva flew roughly 10 hours from Ankara, Turkey, on top of a three hour and 45 minute flight from Moscow to Ankara. This is typical protocol for wrongfully detained Americans who return home.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Whelan, Gershkovich, Harris, Biden, Kurmasheva, “, ”, ” Biden, Feedback Biden, CNN Whelan, Vladimir Kara, Murza, –, Vadim Krasikov, Elizabeth Whelan, Joint Base Andrews, Alex Brandon, Base Andrews, Brittney Griner Organizations: CNN, Wall Street, Joint Base Andrews, Street Journal, US State Department, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, Washington Post, Joint Base, Base, AP, White, National Security Council, State Department, Brooke Army Medical Center, Defense Department Locations: American, United States, Russia, Maryland, Moscow, Radio Free Europe, Germany, Poland, Norway, Slovenia, Gershkovich, Kara, Ankara, Turkey, San Antonio, PISA

☆ How the Russian prisoner swap that freed Evan Gershkovich unfolded over two years
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The effort took on extra urgency in March 2023, when the Russians arrested Gershkovich, a senior administration official said. Days later, NBC News reported that a deal that could have sprung Navalny, Gershkovich and Whelan had been in the works. After Biden and Scholz met on Feb. 9, Scholz told Biden he was on board. Vice President Kamala Harris also discussed the prisoner swap with Scholz, telling him that Krasikov was a critical component of getting a prisoner swap with Russia, a White House official said. That was when he called the Slovenian prime minister to make sure his country was ready to release the Russian in their custody.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Brittney Griner, Biden, Viktor Bout, Paul Whelan ’, Whelan, Paul Whelan, Antony Blinken, “, ” Blinken, Sergei Lavrov, Gershkovich, Blinken, Lavrov, ” Lavrov, ”, ” Gershkovich, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Vadim Krasikov, Zelimkhan, Olaf Scholz, Krasikov, Griner, Whalen, Joe Biden, Scholz, Kamala Harris, Jake Sullivan, Elizabeth Whelan, Sullivan, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Kurmasheva, ” Biden Organizations: Wall Street, Marine, AP, NBC News, Berlin, White, Biden Locations: Russia, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Berlin, Moscow, Germany, Chechen, Russian, U.S, Nevada, Slovenian

☆ Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he's 'positive and confident' the 'wheels are turning' toward release
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Paul Whelan, an American who is wrongfully detained in Russia, told CNN on Sunday that he feels confident that his case is a priority for the United States government but wishes it could be resolved faster. “I remain positive and confident on a daily basis that the wheels are turning. I just wish they would turn a little bit more quickly,” said Whelan, who called CNN exclusively from his prison camp in remote Mordovia. However, Whelan said Sunday he has more confidence in the US efforts to get him home than he did when he spoke to CNN in December following Griner’s release. Medical care, dental care is provided privately,” he told CNN.

Washington CNN —The Biden administration believes the Russian government will continue to engage on detainee issues, including freeing American Paul Whelan, following the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner because “they have things they want in this world,” a senior administration official told CNN. Moscow knows that ultimately the two sides will reach “a mutually acceptable arrangement if they keep talking to us,” the official continued. “It’s clear that the US government has no concessions that the Russian government will take for Paul Whelan. The official didn’t count out the US offering a Russian spy in US custody as a potential offer to Russia. “There is a willingness to pay even a very big price on the part of this President,” the official said.

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Thursday's release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for a convicted Russian arms dealer has resurfaced an old question: Do prisoner swaps do more harm than good? The details of Griner's release highlight the painful trade-offs confronting the Biden administration. In one such case in 2016, North Korea detained American college student Otto Warmbier during a dispute with the international community over that country's missile launches. Many of the families argue that the U.S. should be willing negotiate and discount the argument that prisoner swaps lead more countries to grab Americans. Those hard choices meant Washington could either leave Whelan in Russian custody or else return empty-handed after months of negotiations.

☆ Biden chose humanity over geopolitics with Griner release
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But President Joe Biden’s decision to exchange WNBA star Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout goes beyond the exchange’s bottom line. And it prompted top Republicans to charge that he had prioritized a basketball superstar over an ex-marine who benefited from a vocal political pressure campaign on Biden. This adds another layer of complication for Biden as he seeks to get Whelan free, since it involves another government and would require German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to potentially agree to supersede his country’s own legal system. While Biden is being castigated by some political opponents in Washington for doing a bad deal, administration officials insisted that he got the best one on offer. It was a choice between bringing home one particular American, Brittney Griner, or bringing home none,” a senior administration official told reporters on Thursday.

☆ Paul Whelan tells CNN he is 'disappointed' that more has not been done to secure his release
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Washington CNN —Detained American Paul Whelan expressed his frustration that more has not been done to secure his release in an exclusive CNN interview hours after another detained American, Brittney Griner, was freed. It was a choice between bringing home one particular American – Brittney Griner – or bringing home none,” a US senior administration official said Thursday morning. Elizabeth Whelan said she believes the Russians wanted to deny Biden a win by releasing both of the American wrongful detainees. Elizabeth Whelan also told CNN that she does not believe her brother knows the extent of the efforts to free him, noting the family has to be careful what they tell him because they assume the Russian authorities are listening. Asked if he thought he would face repercussions for speaking to CNN, Whelan said he didn’t think so.

With winter approaching at the penal colony where Griner was being held, Biden faced a singularly presidential decision. Griner’s wife, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday, was invited to an early morning meeting at the White House set for Thursday. Cherelle Griner waited at the White House for a short period of time before it became clear the planned meeting with Sullivan had shifted. The White House described her suffering “intolerable circumstances” during her detention. At the White House, Biden met with Griner’s wife for the first time to show her the letter he was sending in response.

Biden sat down in the Oval Office with Cherelle Griner, wife of women's basketball star Brittney Griner, and Elizabeth Whelan, sister of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. Biden conducted the separate meetings to assure the families that the detainees "are at front of mind," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The United States in late July said it has put forward a "substantial offer" to secure the release of the two Americans. Last month, Russia's foreign ministry said it was engaged in "quiet diplomacy" with the United States about a potential prisoner swap that could include Griner and Whelan. Washington has offered to exchange Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout for Griner and Whelan, sources familiar with the situation have told Reuters.

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