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Russian Hostage Exchange

Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
in Purgatory
All I have heard about today is the release of 16 people from Russian prisons, Five Germans, 3 Americans, seven political prisoners--I think I forgot someone. It could not have been done without the cooperation of eight or nine allies.

We definitely got some prisoners which were unjustly seized by the Russians, but the Russians got some people that had been convicted of crimes in several countries.

Was this a fair exchange?

Of course, Trump did not want it to happen. He claims he would have gotten the hostages without paying any money. He says $1 billion dollars were given to the Russians in the exchange. All he would have done is make a phone call to Putin, and Putin would have done what Trump would have asked.

JD Vance, on the other hand, indicated the Russians decided to release the hostages now because when Trump would be elected, they would have faced a stronger administration.

Point is Biden got them out. So much for someone who is mentally incompetent.

Comments

  • Leorning CnihtLeorning Cniht Shipmate
    One notes that one of the three Americans released, Paul Whelan, has been in Russian hands since the middle of Trump's presidency. So the actual facts tell us that Trump did not "just make a phonecall to Putin and get him released".
  • RuthRuth Shipmate
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    We definitely got some prisoners which were unjustly seized by the Russians, but the Russians got some people that had been convicted of crimes in several countries.

    Was this a fair exchange?

    I'm not sure the question is whether it's fair so much as whether it's a good idea. Putin gets to show Russians he doesn't abandon his spies and murderers, the West gets back political prisoners - the foreign policy calculus seems complicated. We want our people back, but trading bad guys for them gives Putin a reason to jail more journalists and other innocent people. If I were a member of Evan Gershkovich's family, I'd be fine with that, of course.
  • EnochEnoch Shipmate
    One thing I regarded as more than a bit sinister when it was reported here (UK television) last night was that the names and mugshots of the prisoners being exchanged westwards were all shown, but that except for one, the identities of the prisoners being exchanged eastwards were not, just a row of blanked faces, with no names and no mention of what they'd been imprisoned for, where they'd done it or where they'd been serving their sentences.

    Was their anonymity part of the deal, is there some other explanation, or was it just the immediacy of reporting the story and they been identified since?

  • chrisstileschrisstiles Hell Host
    Enoch wrote: »
    ,the identities of the prisoners being exchanged eastwards were not, just a row of blanked faces, with no names and no mention of what they'd been imprisoned for, where they'd done it or where they'd been serving their sentences.

    CBS initially had the names, but has removed them.
  • JLBJLB Shipmate
    They are named in the print edition of the Guardian today, but I can't see them on the website. At least one was guilty of murder.
  • CrœsosCrœsos Shipmate
    Gramps49 wrote: »
    JD Vance, on the other hand, indicated the Russians decided to release the hostages now because when Trump would be elected, they would have faced a stronger administration.

    The other way of looking at it is that Putin has concluded that Trump's re-election* is a much more remote possibility so cashing out his hostages now was the best deal he was going to get.

    I have to say that Evan Gerskovich is truly dedicated to the journalistic enterprise.
    The Russian Federation had a few final items of protocol to tick through with the man who had become its most famous prisoner. One, he would be allowed to leave with the papers he’d penned in detention, the letters he’d scrawled out and the makings of a book he’d labored over. But first, they had another piece of writing they required from him, an official request for presidential clemency. The text, moreover, should be addressed to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

    The pro forma printout included a long blank space the prisoner could fill out if desired, or simply, as expected, leave blank. In the formal high Russian he had honed over 16 months imprisonment, the Journal’s Russia correspondent filled the page. The last line submitted a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?

    The Wall Street Journal is usually paywalled, but I guess since Gerskovich is one of their own they decided to let the general public view the above article for free, plus their write-up of the hostage deal more generally.
  • peasepease Tech Admin
    JLB wrote: »
    They are named in the print edition of the Guardian today, but I can't see them on the website. At least one was guilty of murder.
    It's here.
  • CrœsosCrœsos Shipmate
    One big point on the question of "could Trump have done this?" is the degree to which this deal required the cooperation of other countries. Biden's statement:
    The toughest call on this one is for other countries. Because I asked them to do something that was against their immediate self-interest. Really difficult for them to do. Particularly Germany and Slovenia. Slovenia came in at the last minute and I tell you what, the Chancellor was incredible. He was incredible.

    Can anyone here imagine Donald Trump coordinating this level of cooperation among allies? Or giving credit to anyone else, for that matter? This is one of the areas where personalities matter in international relations. Bide was able to get a level of trust and cooperation from other governments it would be hard to imagine happening with a Trump administration.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    There are still several Americans held in Russia. Story Here. . Maybe Trump can have a go at them--or Harris.

    Not sure of other nationals.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Crœsos wrote: »
    One big point on the question of "could Trump have done this?" is the degree to which this deal required the cooperation of other countries. Biden's statement:
    The toughest call on this one is for other countries. Because I asked them to do something that was against their immediate self-interest. Really difficult for them to do. Particularly Germany and Slovenia. Slovenia came in at the last minute and I tell you what, the Chancellor was incredible. He was incredible.

    Can anyone here imagine Donald Trump coordinating this level of cooperation among allies? Or giving credit to anyone else, for that matter? This is one of the areas where personalities matter in international relations. Bide was able to get a level of trust and cooperation from other governments it would be hard to imagine happening with a Trump administration.

    Who did Trump finally congratulate? It was not anyone in the coordinated agreement. He congratulated Putin. Who would a' thought?
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