25 detainees including journalist Evan Gershkovich have been released in a swap deal between Russia, the US, and other Western states today.
5 individuals are American citizens among 17 Western detainees, says Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan, the National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States, in a press release.
The prisoner exchange deal was completed this afternoon in Turkey.
The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, is reportedly the first American journalist who has been sentenced to 16 years in an espionage charge in Russia since the Cold War.
Sullivan particularly praises his leadership-Joe Biden, the FDR of Germany chancellor-Olaf Scholz and other leaders from Norway, Slovakia and Turkey for achieving the most complex negotiation.
“We are also monitoring the situation in the Middle East,” says Sullivan, explaining the US’s commitment to de-escalating the situation.
The historic deal following the Cold War has sparked optimism in resolving the war between Russia and Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.
“We are obviously working closely with NATO and with other allies and partners to ensure armed control and security,” said Sullivan, addressing a question regarding the situation in the Middle East.
