In the prisoner-swapping between Russia and the West on Thursday, where eight Russians were exchanged for free, the European state played a significant part.
The key figure in the transfer, which involved some nations, was Vadim Krasikov, a Soviet convicted of killing a previous Chechen radical in Berlin in 2019.
In exchange for Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany, Russia had already reached out to the United States in 2022. But, because Krasikov was not an American slave, US authorities did not think the offer was significant.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also revealed in an interview with Tucker Carlson of the US talk show that he was interested in a Krasikov-related prisoner swap.
Nevertheless, the decision to release Krasikov was socially complicated for Germany, given the boldness of the death. In a Berlin area close to the Parliament and the Chancellery, it took position in clear daylight.
Why did Germany transfer Krasikov?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz interjected his summer vacation with a group of released prisoners to visit them as they arrived in Germany.” It was not easy for anyone to make the decision to arrest a murderer who had already served a few years in prison,” said Scholz.
According to Scholz, the state’s desire to enforce the prison phrase had to be balanced against the liberties of unfairly imprisoned Russian citizens and those who were imprisoned for political reasons.
According to Scholz,” We have an obligation to protect European nationals as well as cooperation with the United States,” adding that both he and Friedrich Merz, the leader of the German opposition, both agreed with the decision.
After meeting with some of the prisoners upon their appearance in Germany, Scholz reaffirmed that the transfer was” the right choice, and you will lose them after talking to those who are now free.”
He continued,” Many of the prisoners feared for their lives as well as their health.”
The agreement, according to the European part of the Amnesty International human rights organization, had a “bitter style” because it established a line between” a criminal… convicted in a good test” and “people who have just exercised their right to free speech.
A “deal with the lord”
The transfer of activists and European citizens held badly in Russia was welcomed, according to an opinion item in the mass-market Bild newspapers.” Putin is a warrior” for” saving murderers,” the wicked message sent to the Russian people,” the article said.
German government official Steffen Hebestreit, however, defended Krasikov’s transfer.
Hebestreit told investigators that the transfer was just conceivable because Russian individuals with brains backgrounds who were imprisoned in Europe were deported and moved to Russia.
Michael Roth, the mind of the German legislature’s Foreign Affairs Committee, summed up Berlin’s judgement on X, previously Online, by saying,” Sometimes, for reasons of society, you have to do a bargain with the devil”.
Biden thanks Germany for concessions
Joe Biden, the president of the US, acknowledged that Germany needed to make significant concessions in exchange for the prisoners. He said he “particularly” owed” a great sense of gratitude” to Scholz.
According to Biden, the agreement “required me to obtain some significant concessions from Germany,” which they initially rejected because of the subject matter.
In January, Biden personally approached Scholz about the possibility of a prisoner swap, to which Scholz responded:” For you, I will do this”, Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Thursday.
The strength of the US-German alliance
Leaders in the United States and Germany decided it was worthwhile to make the “painful, difficult decision” to secure the release of prisoners held in Russia, according to Danielle Gilbert, a political scientist at Northwestern University.
According to Gilbert,” The leaders who are engaged in this diplomacy are doing everything in their power to bring their citizens home.”
She stated that Biden had called on” the strong allies of the United States, particularly Germany and the strength of that alliance,” and that she had focused on “making sure that prisoners were released as part of this deal that would be important to Germany.”
Gilbert continued, noting that the size of the agreement was determined by a number of one-for-one negotiations between the US and Russia.
To see 24 people being traded out as part of this deal from seven different nations, Gilbert said, “is a lot of coordination and shows that sometimes you have to put more on the table to get a deal done,” Gilbert said.
12 of Russia’s prisoners who were released all transferred to Germany. Ilya Yashin, an opposition politician, was serving time for criticizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with Rico Krieger, a German who had been given a death sentence in Belarus on espionage charges before receiving a pardon this week.
