2024 Ankara prisoner exchange
On 1 August 2024, the United States and Russia conducted the most extensive prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, involving the release of twenty-six people. The exchange was realized at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Turkey.
Following at least six months of secret multilateral negotiations, Russia and Belarus released sixteen detainees while the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Norway collectively released eight detainees and two minors. Among those released were three American citizens: Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine; Gershkovich and Whelan had each received sixteen-year sentences for espionage, becoming a cause célèbre in the U.S.
The prisoner exchange, which has been described as one of the most complex in history, took place at Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Turkey, whose government served as a mediator between the parties. Under the terms of the agreement, the eight Russian nationals and two minors were transferred to Russia, while thirteen of the prisoners held by Russia and Belarus were released to Germany and three to the U.S. Both the U.S. and Russia hailed the prisoner swap as a significant diplomatic victory.
Background
During the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union routinely exchanged prisoners, who were typically spies, military officers, or other government agents. The end of the Cold War in 1991 resulted in a marked decline in espionage activities—and, accordingly, prisoner exchanges—between the U.S. and Soviet Union's successor, the Russian Federation; the most recent mass prisoner swap between the two countries occurred in 2010, when ten Russian sleeper agents detained in the U.S. as part of the so-called "Illegals Program" were exchanged for four prisoners held in Russia.In response to rising geopolitical tensions with the West over the past decade, Russia has heightened its repression of both domestic dissent and perceived foreign influence, leading to the arrest and detention of U.S. citizens, many of whom are deemed by the U.S. government to have been "wrongfully detained". In 2012, Russia enacted a foreign agent law that has been used to persecute those deemed under foreign influence; the scope of the law was expanded in 2024. Following the start of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, and especially since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian government has intensified its crackdowns on domestic opposition and "foreign influence". On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading "fake news" about Russia's military operation in Ukraine; thousands of Russians have been prosecuted under this law for criticizing the war in Ukraine, including opposition politician Ilya Yashin and artist Aleksandra Skochilenko.
Trevor Reed, a U.S. Marine veteran arrested in Russia in 2019 allegedly for attacking a police officer, was released in April 2022 for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot and aviation transport expert imprisoned in the U.S. for drug smuggling. Less than a year after Reed's release, American basketball player Brittney Griner, who had been arrested in February 2022 for drug smuggling, was exchanged the following December for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Several analysts and U.S. officials expressed concern that Russia used Reed and Griner as leverage in response to the international sanctions imposed upon it after their invasion of Ukraine. Several other Americans held by Russia, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and schoolteacher Marc Fogel, had been contemplated as part of the exchange deal for Griner; the negotiations leading to her release reportedly paved the way for the most recent exchange of twenty-six individuals between both countries and their respective allies.
The involvement of Belarus in the deal reflects Putin's foreign policy, seeing post-Soviet states as Russia's sphere of influence and opposing NATO enlargement there. According to Western analysts, Belarus acts on the Kremlin's demand under the Russian-dominated supranational "Union State".
Prisoner exchange
Negotiations and preparation
During a February 2024 trip by German chancellor Olaf Scholz to Washington, D.C., the German and American governments began working on how to negotiate an agreement that would include the freeing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Scholz and Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob separately during the Munich Security Conference in February 2024 to privately discuss the negotiations. After Navalny's death on the first day of the conference—explained by his allies as a killing to prevent the exchange—the proposal turned to focus on other prisoners.
Prior to June 2024, Sergey Beseda headed the Russian side of the negotiations that later led to the 2024 Ankara prisoner exchange; however, in June 2024, Vladimir Putin replaced Beseda with Aleksey Komkov. The Vice President of Germany's BND Philipp Wolff also joined the negotiations at this time.
On 21 July, American president Joe Biden called Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob to secure the necessary pardons for two Russian spies held in the country that were to be exchanged as part of the swap.
In the days leading up to the exchange, three Russians were transferred from facilities operated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to the United States Marshals Service.
Turkey served as a key mediator of the exchange and was named by President Biden as one of the nations that had "stepped up" to ensure that the prisoners were released; the Turkish government, which maintains relatively warm relations with both parties, oversaw the physical exchange of prisoners at Ankara Esenboğa Airport.
Individuals released
Twenty-six individuals, including two minors believed to be the children of the two Russian spies in Slovenia, were released. Marc Fogel and Ksenia Karelina were not included as part of the exchange. Individuals returning to Russia are from various countries: the United States, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, and Norway.Released by Russia and Belarus
The following people were released by Russia and Belarus:| Name | Nationality | Country detained in | Held since | Occupation | Charges | Prison sentence | ||||
| Lilia Chanysheva |  RussiaRussian citizens released by Western countriesThe following people were released by Western countries:
|