WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday celebrated a historic prisoner release that freed three Americans held captive in a Russian prison, touting the importance of alliances that made the deal possible.
Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza as he spoke about the deal, which is the largest since the Cold War.
“This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here,” Biden said. “It’s a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country, who’ve been praying for this day for a long time.”
“And now their brutal ordeal is over and they’re free,” Biden said.
A senior administration official said even the day Biden announced he was no longer seeking a second term, he was on the phone working to secure this deal.
The President touted his administration’s work and the power of global alliances while also seemingly criticizing Donald Trump.
“For anyone who questions whether allies matter, they do. They matter,” he said.
“Our work did not start just on Day 1. It started before Day 1,” he said. “During the transition, I instructed our national security team to dig into all the cases of hostages being wrongfully detained, which were inherently — well, we inherited them from the private — the prior administration.”
“I wanted to make sure we hit the ground running, and we did,” Biden continued. “As of today, my administration has brought home over 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad. Many since before I took office.”
Gershkovich, a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, was arrested in March 2023. He was charged with espionage in a Russian court and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Whelan, a businessman who has been detained since visiting Russia for a friend’s wedding in 2018, was also convicted of espionage and had been serving a 16-year sentence.
Kurmasheva is a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. is a dual Russian British national and U.S. permanent resident who was arrested on treason charges for 25 years in April 2023.
