Behind the scenes of US-Russia prisonner swap deal
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00:00The biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history.
00:0410 individuals were transferred to Russia, 13 to Germany and 3 to the US.
00:09But how did it happen?
00:11The deal was set in motion with a phone call between Joe Biden and Germany's Chancellor
00:15Olaf Scholz in January.
00:17Scholz was crucial for the deal, as the US team working to free Gershkovich deemed a
00:22deal was only possible if Germany freed Vadim Krasnikov, a convicted Russian murderer who
00:28killed a Chechen separatist in a Berlin park in 2019.
00:32Also a close ally to Putin, who had been calling for his release for years.
00:37This week, the Kremlin confirmed Krasnikov was employed by Russia's FSB security service.
00:43Krasnikov is an employee of the Federal Security Service.
00:46He served in the Alpha Special Division.
00:48Interestingly, when he served in Alpha, he served with some members of the Presidential
00:52Guard.
00:53Germany hesitated to free Krasnikov, but Biden convinced Scholz during a visit to
00:57Washington in February.
00:59Berlin and Washington planned to also include Russian dissident and opposition leader Alexei
01:04Navalny as part of the deal.
01:07But days after Scholz agreed to include Krasnikov, Navalny's death was suddenly announced.
01:12Kamala Harris condemned Russia and called it a further sign of Putin's brutality.
01:18Navalny's death came as a blow to the US team, but National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
01:23told Gershkovits' parents that he still saw a path forward.
01:26For Evan to be traded in a prisoner swap, he needed a conviction.
01:31So the US team kept working in the background.
01:34Kamala Harris met Slovenia's Prime Minister and pressed him to include two jailed Russian
01:39spies as part of the deal.
01:41On July 21st, hours before announcing he won't run for re-election, Biden called the Slovenian
01:47PM to place the final pressure.
01:50Finally, Turkey used its unique position as having open communication with both Russia
01:55and the West to facilitate the exchange of prisoners on its territory, with Turkish security
02:01forces overseeing the exchange and providing medical checks on the prisoners.
02:06Turkey has played a role with several prisoner swaps between Russia and the West, including
02:11the trade of a US Marine for a Russian pilot in 2022 and prisoners of war captured in the
02:16Ukraine war.
02:18The Turkish government hasn't gone into further details on their role in the exchange, but
02:22released a statement praising the agreement.