The News
Russia freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and 15 others Thursday, in the largest East-West prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War. Former US Marine Paul Whelan, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and activist Vladimir Kara-Murza were also among the 16 released by Moscow in exchange for eight Russians being held in the West.
The deal was “a feat of diplomacy” that underscored the importance of having allies, US President Joe Biden said in remarks at the White House. The deal could boost Biden’s legacy as his tenure in the Oval Office winds down, but critics warn it could encourage Russia and other adversaries to take hostages as political bargaining chips.
SIGNALS
Swap shows Russia’s hostage-taking strategy ‘works’
Releasing criminals in exchange for innocent Americans shows that “Russia’s strategy of taking hostages works, because if they wait long enough, the West will eventually accede to their demands,” said Adam Hickey, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the US Department of Justice’s National Security Division in a statement to Semafor. Some German officials have similar concerns about the perception of having caved to Russia’s demands. “What do you do when this becomes a business model?” one asked The Washington Post.
US officials privately worry about ‘abductor states’
The Wall Street Journal called the exchange “emblematic of a new era of state-sponsored hostage-taking by autocratic governments seeking leverage over rivals.” The State Department discourages Americans from visiting a number of countries, including Russia and North Korea, because of the risk that they could be detained and used as leverage. “Privately, US officials call them ‘abductor states’ and fear their number will grow unless there are new measures to deter them,” The Journal reported.
Timing of swap could be related to Biden presidency ending
It’s possible that Russian President Vladimir Putin “calculated that it was better to do business with Biden instead of waiting for the next administration and possibly having to start from scratch,” Reuters reported. Former President Donald Trump had previously insisted that if reelected, he could easily get Gershkovich released without any concessions. In May, he posted that “Putin “will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!”