John Kirby, White House National Security Council communications adviser, addressed criticism over the release of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin, in exchange for three Americans and other political dissidents held prisoner by Russia.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and former Marine Paul Whelan were released Thursday in a multi-nation prisoner swap in what is being referred to as the most significant prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States since the Cold War.
Krasikov was convicted of a 2019 murder and was freed by Germany in the prisoner swap. After returning home to Moscow, he embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Citing Newsweek, Baier noted criticism that the prisoner exchange has been “hailed as a ‘success’ for Vladimir Putin.”
Kirby told Bret Baier, chief political anchor for Fox News on “Special Report,” the decision to release Krasikov took “a lot of moral courage” from Olaf Scholz, German Chancellor.
“Nobody’s delighted or doing backflips over here because Mr. Krasikov is now a free man. That’s what negotiations are all about. They require tough decisions, tough calls. The president was willing to make that tough call in order to get these — all these individuals, not just Americans, all of them — released,” said Kirby.
“In the end, when you weigh it, yes — these are all criminals on the Russian side, and yes, they’re all innocents on the West side, but in the balance, I think we could all agree that it’s better to have innocent people no longer rotting in Russian prisons for the rest of their lives — and I think, on balance, that’s what it came down to.”
Kirby: It isn’t new for Putin and Russia to “wrongfully” detain Americans, use them as bargaining chips
Kirby said it isn’t new for Russia and Putin to “wrongfully” detain Americans and then use them as bargaining chips further down the road.
“It’s not a behavior that we think is going to change anytime soon, which is why we urge Americans not to travel to Russia,” said Kirby. “There’s a strong detention risk there. Don’t go — and if you’re there now, you ought to be making your way out.”
Kurmasheva, Gerschkovich, and Whelan are set to land at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday evening.
Kirby confirmed the White House is additionally working to secure the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher, who was sentenced to 14 years in a Russian penal colony for possessing medical marijuana.
“There are ongoing conversations right now, in discussions with the Russians, to see what we can do, to try to get Mr. Fogel home,” Kirby told Baier. “We will keep at it.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to get every wrongfully detained American back home or any American wrongfully detained or not that is being held overseas unlawfully.”
