Biden: Gershkovich, Whelan released from Russia via negotiations

US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the release of US citizens Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan was part of a larger prisoner exchange his administration negotiated.

The president, in a statement, said a total of three US citizens and one US green card holder, or permanent resident, "are finally coming home."

They "were unjustly imprisoned in Russia."

In addition to Geshkovich and Whelan, he named Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza. The latter is a Russian activist who was reported recently to have been in poor health.

Biden said, "The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy."

Biden said his government negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens "who were political prisoners in their own country."

The US president expressed his gratitude to US allies "who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome - including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey.

He said his administration will continue to work to free "all those wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world."