East West Prisoner Swap Deal: Diplomacy Emerges Victorious

Why in News?

On August 2nd, a significant East-West prisoner swap took place between the USA-led West and Russia, alongside its ally Belarus. This multinational deal, involving 24 prisoners from seven different countries, was executed at Ankara’s airfield, marking a notable moment in international diplomacy.

Background

In 2022, USA initiated a negotiation with Russia for release of Brittany Griner, an American WNBA player, who was convicted with possession of cannabis oil in her vape. This opportunity was seized by Moscow to get a convicted Russian Arms dealer, Viktor Bout released.

The Griner-Bout swap on December 8, 2022, set the stage for a series of subsequent prisoner exchanges. These events led to numerous discreet meetings and backchannel diplomatic talks, primarily between the CIA and FSB, and also between the USA and its allies, eventually culminating in the multinational East-West Prisoner Swap Deal.

Among the prisoners released from Russia, were Evan Gershkovich, a US Wall Street journalist and reporter, who was sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison for espionage and Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, who was imprisoned with charges of spying.

In return, the West released 8 Russians from 5 countries, i.e., Poland, Germany, Slovenia, Norway and the USA. These included Pablo Gonzalez (aka, Pavel Rubtsov), a journalist and a suspected GRU agent who was imprisoned in Poland but was not yet brought to trial; and Vadim Krasikov from German prison who was a suspected Russian intelligence officer and a hit man, accused of killing a Chechen dissident in Berlin. Krasikov was President Putin’s top priority person.

For the prisoner swap, Ankara was a mutually accepted place as Turkey maintains a strategic balance between the West and the East, which is evident from the fact that it is a NATO member and still chooses not to sanction Moscow.

Implications

The prisoner swap deal pioneered by USA, gave Russia the opportunity to extradite high ranking intelligence officials from not just USA but from all over the West. President Putin, a former KGB (Soviet era Russian Intelligence Agency) officer and ex-Head of FSB (successor to KGB), adheres to the motto “We don’t abandon our own” and hence, he places high value for his spies which explains his commitment to bringing these individuals back to Russia.

Within USA, the success of this deal that brought Americans home acts as a big triumph for Biden-Harris Administration, considering it gives them the added points while contesting for the upcoming US Presidential Election in November this year.

While the USA and Russia have been ideological adversaries since the end of World War II, often clashing over geopolitical issues, this deal, though not directly impacting ongoing conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war, helps maintain a crucial line of communication between the two powers.

Conclusion

It is considered as the largest swap after Cold War; however, at the same time, it is noteworthy that other prisoner swap deals have been successful in the past as well. For instance, at a bilateral level, last comparable deal took place in Vienna, Austria in 2010 when 10 Russian spies held in the US were swapped for 4 double agents held in Russia.

In a nutshell, “Painstaking” behind the door negotiations proves fruitful time and again, as it results in successful return of prisoners back to their home to their families, which is a big win for diplomacy.

Authored By

Ms. Kushika Madan

Researcher, The Geojuristoday