Biden ‘serious’ about Gershkovich prisoner swap, path unclear

At a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on Thursday, July 13, President Joe Biden was asked about a potential prisoner swap involving jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. He has spent over 100 days in what the United States describes as wrongful detention in Russia on espionage charges.

“Oh, I’m serious about a prisoner exchange,” President Biden said. “I’m serious about doing all we can to free Americans who are being illegally held in Russia or anywhere else for that matter. And that process is underway.”

Biden’s comments came more than a week after the Kremlin signaled it was open to more talks about a potential prisoner swap. Where those talks go, however, was still unclear heading into this week.

“I do not want to give false hope. What the Kremlin said earlier this week is correct: There have been discussions,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday, July 7. “But those discussions have not produced a clear pathway to a resolution, and so I cannot stand here today and tell you that we have a clear answer to how we are going to get Evan home.  All I can do is tell you that we have a clear commitment and conviction that we will do everything possible to bring him home.”

The same day Biden commented on a Gershkovich prisoner swap, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with one of Russia’s top newspapers about the Wagner Group. When asked if he would keep the group as a fighting unit, President Putin said that, in a legal sense, the group doesn’t even exist.

“Wagner does not exist,” Putin said. “There is no law on private military organizations. It just doesn’t exist.”

According to the newspaper interview, Putin said he offered Wagner mercenaries the option of continuing to serve as a single unit under their same commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, during talks with the group five days after their brief revolt ended on June 24. However, Putin also suggested Prigozhin may be moved aside in favor of a different commander.

“We’re not even sure where he is and what relationship he has. If I were he, I’d be careful what I ate. I’d be keeping my eye on my menu,” Biden said when asked about Prigozhin Thursday. “But all kidding aside, who knows? I don’t know. I don’t think any of us know for sure what the future of Prigozhin is in Russia. And so, I don’t know how to answer that question beyond that.”