White House on prisoner swap with Russia: No engagement directly with Putin
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (Getty Images)
The United States did not interact with Russian President Vladimir Putin in preparing for a major prisoner exchange, according to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
“No engagement directly with Vladimir Putin,” Sullivan said.
He said that the United States interacted with Russian officials in preparation for the exchange.
“There was extensive engagement with Russian officials over the course of this. I’m not going to get into the details because those channels are sensitive and need to be protected for exactly this reason, because having those sensitive channels enables us to produce results like today,” the White House adviser said.
US President Joe Biden was asked at a briefing at the White House if he wanted to speak directly with Putin, given that the prisoners are returning home as part of the deal.
"I don't need to speak with Putin,” Biden replied.
Prisoner exchange
Yesterday, August 1, the United States, Germany and partner countries conducted a prisoner exchange with Russia. Moscow released convicted opposition activists, journalists, and other political prisoners.
The West handed over convicted spies and other criminals to Moscow. Germany extradited to Russia the killer Vadim Krasikov. He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in 2019.
Germany called the exchange of Krasikov a difficult decision and emphasized that he was deported but not pardoned.
