The approach has yielded fewer successes for the White House in war-ridden Ukraine and the Middle East in the past four years. They joined a difficult complex negotiation at my request," Biden said, announcing the prisoner swap at the White House Thursday, calling it “a feat of diplomacy and friendship." Biden personally worked on the Gershkovich deal with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser. Germany’s decision to release Krasikov, a key Kremlin demand, was the linchpin of the deal, Biden said, one that Scholz initially rebuffed. Sullivan said that the deal’s complexity made it unlike any previous prisoner deal with Moscow.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 02, 2024 10:48 UTC