Media reported how many years the negotiations on prisoner exchange between the West and Russia lasted

The media reported how many years the negotiations on the exchange of prisoners between the West and Russia lasted Diana Kvasnevskaya

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Negotiations between the West and the US on a large prisoner exchange continued for more 2 years. That is, they began even before the arrest of WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich in March 2023.

Joe Biden confirmed that Alexei Navalny, who died in February 2024, was also to be exchanged. His ally said that Putin killed the oppositionist “days before his release.”

What is known about the prisoner exchange

Journalists spoke about preparations for the exchange, citing their sources.

For several months after the arrest of American basketball player Britney Griner in Russia in February 2022, the Russians were ready to talk, American officials told the publication.

According to their information, Russia approached Washington with a proposal to exchange Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia of espionage, as part of the agreement to release Russian killer Vadim Krasikov.

However In the US, this proposal was not considered serious, since Krasikov was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for the murder of the Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.

Further exchanges were discussed:

• Earlier this year, Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with his German counterpart Jens Plötner to try to figure out how to broker a deal to free Whelan. In December 2022, basketball player Brittney Griner was exchanged for arms dealer Viktor Bout;
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about the exchange with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the sidelines of a meeting in Japan on April 17, 2023. Then they proposed a new twist: if the Germans free Krasikov, they would get Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in return.

However, in March 2023, the Kremlin detained WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich, and in October 2023, Radio Liberty journalist Alsa Kurmashova.

After this, Washington made another exchange offer to Moscow, which did not include Krasikov. It was rejected, an American official told reporters.

Next, on January 16, 2024, the US President called Olaf Scholz and invited him to a meeting at the White House, where the issue of prisoners was to be the main one .

Then Washington and Berlin reached a preliminary agreement on an agreement that included Krasikov. However, on February 16, 2024, Navalny died in the colony and the States lost that part of the deal that attracted the Germans.

After this, negotiations on the exchange continued when Biden sent a letter to Scholz at the end of April , in which he described a complex potential deal. Next:

• in June – Olaf Scholz seemed to agree that Germany would release Krasikov, which would kick off a multi-stage prisoner exchange;
• The United States conveyed this proposal to Russia and the Kremlin accelerated the trials of Gershkovich and Kurmashova;
• two weeks ago, that is, in the middle of July, Biden received an official message that Russia is ready to accept the agreement.

This (preparation for the exchange – Channel 24) happened even when Biden’s own political future was falling apart. He called the Slovenian prime minister from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to negotiate the last part of the deal, hours before he released a letter on July 22 saying he would not seek reelection. the official said.

So the West received 16 people, and Russia – 10, including Krasikov.