Quotes
There are ongoing conversations right now, in discussions with the Russians, to see what we can do, to try to get Mr. Fogel home,
It's not a behavior that we think is going to change anytime soon, which is why we urge Americans not to travel to Russia,
The leaders who are engaged in this diplomacy are trying to do whatever it is they can to get the best deal they can to bring their citizens home,
To see 24 people being exchanged as part of this deal from 7 different countries and that's a huge amount of coordination and shows that sometimes to get a deal done you have to put more on the table,
That is why it was important to us that we have an obligation to protect German nationals as well as solidarity with the United States,
The release was only possible because Russian citizens with intelligence backgrounds who were imprisoned in Europe were deported and transferred to Russia,
Hebestreit told reporters It was not easy for anyone to make this decision to deport a murderer sentenced to life imprisonment after only a few years in prison,
said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who interrupted his summer vacation to greet some of the released prisoners upon their arrival in Germany Many of the prisoners feared for their health and even their lives,
Sometimes, for reasons of humanity, you have to do a deal with the devil."
Michael Roth, the head of the German parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, summed up Berlin's decision on X, formerly Twitter, by saying For you, I will do this,
In January, Biden personally approached Scholz about the possibility of a prisoner swap, to which Scholz responded ... Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Thursday I strongly welcome the news that Russia has released a number of prisoners today, and am particularly relieved that British nationals Vladimir Kara-Murza and Paul Whelan will soon be reunited with their families.
Last night Foreign Secretary David Lammy said I believe all our enemies should stay there [out of Russia] and all those who are not our enemies should return
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said I want to congratulate you on your return to the motherland,
Putin said after welcoming them I want to thank you for your loyalty to the oath, duty and the Motherland, which did not forget about you.
Addressing those who had served in Russia's military, he added Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,
Krasikov is a very high-value asset who will be debriefed by the Russian security services on the operation, how he got apprehended, what he learned during the interrogations in Germany, and everything the Russians are interested in,
There has never been, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, so many close U.S. partners and allies working together,
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters I particularly owe a great sense of gratitude to the chancellor."
President Biden also championed Germany’s efforts in the prisoner swap and said It matters to have relationships. It really does,
Krasikov is a high-ranking colonel in the elite Spetsnaz unit of the FSB,
Rebekah Koffler, former DIA intelligence officer and author of "Putin’s Playbook," told Fox News Digital in reference to Russia’s intelligence agency the Federal Security Service (FSB).