What Does the Massive US-Russia Prisoner Swap Mean for Relations, Foreign Policy?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
American citizens Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and U.S. resident Vladimir Kara-Murza returned to U.S. soil yesterday after the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. What does the swap mean for U.S.-Russia relations?
From the Center: "Carrying out a complex exchange such as this one suggests that reliable back channels are still working. 'If this is true, it means that Russia is not completely isolated and is still able to conduct serious negotiations with Western countries,' says Mr. Mukhin, the Russian political analyst." said a writer for Christian Science Monitor (Center).
From the Left: "Does the swap signal a potential thaw in relations between Moscow and Washington? Absolutely not. The swap was nothing more than a temporary moment of convenience when Putin and Biden’s narrow political interests overlapped. There will be no thaw or reset in the final days of Biden’s term. Until Moscow removes its troops from Ukraine, Washington will not relent. Nor should it," said a USA Today (Lean Left) columnist.
From the Right: A Washington Examiner (Lean Right) contributor wrote, "Could this Cold War-esque prisoner exchange be the opening gambit in a more semiworkable relationship between Washington and Moscow? In an ideal world, the answer would be yes...The Gershkovich negotiation wasn’t a slam dunk... we don’t live in an ideal world. In reality, the outlook for a broader U.S.-Russia opening is dim."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Prisoner swap doesn’t mean much for US-Russia relations
Six months from retirement and in desperate need of a foreign policy win, President Joe Biden just got one with the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, U.S. citizen Paul Whelan, Washington Post columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza, and 13 other prisoners from Russia. The Americans, working with Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Norway, agreed to send eight convicted prisoners back to Russia, the most infamous being Vadim Krasikov, a veteran of the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan and a Russian intelligence operative who, in 2019, gunned down a Chechen dissident in the heart of Berlin.
From the Left
Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich's release won't mean much for Russia, US relations
The United States and Russia exchanged 24 prisoners Thursday at a moment of terrible tension between the two rivals. After months of ongoing talks, with more than six countries involved in the negotiations, three American citizens and one American green-card holder have been freed in Turkey in the largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War.
Freeing the four residents, including cause célèbres such as Pulitzer Prize winner Vladimir Kara-Murza, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan will add heft to Joe Biden’s record of foreign policy accomplishments as president.
From the Center
Prisoner swap with Russia frees Americans – and raises hopes for future diplomacy
“That’s very hopeful, since there is a long list of urgent problems that might benefit from more constructive diplomacy between Russia and the U.S.,” including Ukraine and arms control, says Russian political analyst Alexey Mukhin. The exchange offered a glimmer of hope for tundra-cold East-West relations – in particular the frigid links between Washington and Moscow – demonstrating that diplomacy between the two sides can still advance when both see it in their interest. From the Oval Office and surrounded by family members of the released Americans Thursday afternoon, President...
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