Biden celebrates prisoner deal and importance of allies in key moment for his legacy

(CNN) — Thursday’s massive multi-country prisoner swap with Russia – touted by the US as the largest since the end of the Cold War – marked a major diplomatic achievement and legacy-defining moment for President Joe Biden less than six months before he leaves office.

The prisoner exchange, which included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan, was Biden’s first major foreign policy action since announcing last month he was ending his reelection bid and endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris. The agreement involved months of complex negotiations with allies and adversaries alike, involving seven countries and 24 prisoners.

Biden and Harris greeted Whelan, Gershkovich and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland late Thursday night after the freed Americans had touched down on US soil. Their families were also waiting on the tarmac to receive them.

“I was absolutely convinced we could get it done,” Biden told reporters after watching the emotional family reunions. “I meant it when I said, ‘Alliances make a difference.’ They stepped up and took a chance for us, and it mattered a lot.”

Flanked earlier in the day by the families of the prisoners who were released, Biden spoke from the White House and praised the US alliances that helped make the deal possible – an implicit knock of Donald Trump’s criticisms of NATO in a moment that injects a new dynamic into the presidential race between the former president and Harris.

“Anyone who questions if allies matter: They do,” Biden said, raising his voice. “They matter. Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world. Friends you could trust, work with, and depend upon, especially in matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this.”

Trump questioned the deal and what was given up in the exchange, calling the negotiators an “embarrassment.”

“Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They are extorting the United States of America. They’re calling the trade ‘complex’ – That’s so nobody can figure out how bad it is!”

Trump said in an interview on “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show” later Thursday, “They allowed some really rough people out.”

The prisoner swap with Russia was just one of multiple foreign policy dilemmas that have vexed Biden’s presidency, from a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to helping Ukraine keep up its fight against Russia. As he passed the baton to Harris last month, he said he would spend the last six months in office continuing to try to solve all of these issues.

The president’s efforts to finalize the deal were ongoing even as he was preparing to drop out of the 2024 race. About an hour before Biden posted a letter making that announcement less than two weeks ago, for instance, he had been on the phone with his Slovenian counterpart to urge them to help push the deal over the finish line, according to a senior administration official.

Biden also had multiple conversations about the deal with his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, including when the chancellor visited the Oval Office in February. Convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed in Germany, was critical to getting Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a deal.

Coming fewer than 100 days before Election Day, the prisoner swap is already playing into the 2024 campaign.

Trump’s running mate suggested that the potential for the former president to return to office had prompted Putin to agree to the swap.

“We have to ask ourselves, why are they coming home? And I think it’s because bad guys all over the world recognize Donald Trump’s about to be back in office, so they’re cleaning house,” Ohio Sen. JD Vance said in an interview with CNN’s Steve Contorno on Thursday. “That’s a good thing, and I think it’s a testament to Donald Trump’s strength.”

Trump had previously suggested that he was the only one who could get Putin to release Gershkovich. In a May Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the Wall Street Journal reporter “will be released almost immediately after the Election, but definitely before I assume Office.”

“He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, will do that for me, but not for anyone else, and WE WILL BE PAYING NOTHING!” Trump said.

As he finished his remarks Thursday, Biden was asked by reporters what he would say to Trump about his claims he could get the swap done without giving up anything.

“Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” Biden said before turning to leave the room. While Gershkovich was imprisoned by Russia in 2023, Whelan has been in custody since 2018, when Trump was still in office.

A White House official told CNN that Harris played a role in the diplomatic efforts to get Germany on board with the swap.

When Harris attended the Munich Security Conference in February, she asked staff to leave the room while wrapping up a meeting with Scholz. Just one aide each for the vice president and the chancellor remained.

It was in this private conversation that Harris emphasized that the release of Krasikov would be critical to a deal, a White House official told CNN. Harris pressed Scholz to facilitate the release of Krasikov, whom US officials have said was the “biggest fish” the Russians wanted.

“Today, in spite of all of their suffering, it gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is finally over,” Harris told reporters Thursday. “Over many years, President Biden and I and our team have engaged in complex, diplomatic negotiations to bring wrongfully detained Americans home. We never stopped fighting for their release.”

The prisoner swap required making hard choices for Biden and the other countries involved, in what amounted to a release of dissidents held by Russia in exchange for criminals.

The massive swap was the result of months of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the US, Russia and Germany and several other countries, ultimately leading Berlin to agree to release Moscow’s key demand of Krasikov. At least seven countries played a role in the expansive deal.

A total of eight people, including Krasikov, were swapped back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including four Americans. In addition to Whelan, Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, was also freed.

A senior administration official defended the release of Krasikov as part of the deal.

“He was certainly the biggest fish that the Russians wanted back. Nobody’s turning a blind eye to his crimes and to his connection to Russian intelligence services. But look, in order to secure the release of innocent people overseas and innocent Americans, you have to make some tough decisions,” the official said.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s MJ Lee, Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood, Ivana Kottasova, Alex Marquardt, Betsy Klein, Donald Judd, Sam Fossum, Steve Contorno, Kit Maher and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.

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