Russia frees Evan Gershkovich in biggest
prisoner swap with West since Cold War
Summary
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has landed in Turkey after being freed from a Russian prison, his newspaper says
The WSJ says "Gershkovich and other Americans" left a Russian aircraft at Ankara airport
Gershkovich was imprisoned in Russia for over a year, and was serving a 16-year sentence
US Marine veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva are also being released under the deal, a senior US official confirms
It's reported that Vadim Krasikov, identified by German officials as a colonel in Russia’s FSB intelligence service, is on a plane to Turkey as part of the swap
The exchange, one of the biggest between Russia and the West, will involve 24 prisoners held in Russia, the US, Germany and three other Western countries
How can countries do deals when relations are so bad?
Gordon Corera
Security correspondent
It might seem surprising that an exchange like this can be organised when relations between Russia and the West are so bad, with warnings of conflict over Ukraine.
But the reality is that they have always happened. In the height of the Cold War, there were spy-swaps between Washington and Moscow, often taking place in Berlin – like on the famous film Bridge of Spies.
And in the last two years even though Ukraine and Russia are engaged in a hot war they have also been able to organise large scale prisoner exchanges, as were Israel and Hamas at one point.
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