The largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in decades could help US President Joe Biden burnish his foreign policy legacy in his waning months in office and boost Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the White House.
But, from the perspective of Washington, it came at a significant cost: the freeing of Russians convicted of serious crimes in exchange for Americans the US deems unjustly detained, a trade-off some experts say could encourage hostage-taking by US foes. That concern quickly exposed Biden to attacks from Republican opponents.
Though Biden’s record on the world stage is likely to be heavily defined by the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the complicated, multi-country prisoner swap with Moscow on Thursday provided a much-needed foreign policy accomplishment amid heightened global tensions.
It was all the more difficult to reach a landmark deal against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, in which the US is arming Kyiv against a Russian invasion, sending relations between Moscow and Washington to the lowest point since the Cold War.
The prisoner swap goes a long way, however, towards addressing what Biden’s aides have long identified as a key priority on his foreign policy agenda, especially after he ended his re-election bid and endorsed Harris for the Democratic nomination.
“It is an achievement. Smart diplomacy produced it,” said Dennis Ross, a former Middle East adviser in Republican and Democratic administrations. “Getting back Americans seized and held unjustly is part of the responsibility any government has.”
Biden on Thursday hailed the prisoner swap, including the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, as a “feat of diplomacy,” and by extension it could give Harris a positive note to sound on the campaign trail against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Biden also faces a range of international crises that erupted on his watch.
Ukraine’s fight against Russia remains unresolved. Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza rages on amid growing fears of a broader regional war.
China continues to pose a threat to self-ruled Taiwan and a challenge to US interests in the Indo-Pacific. After an election on Sunday that the Biden administration had pushed for, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has claimed victory despite exit polls that showed an overwhelming opposition win.
And still overshadowing Biden’s record from his first year in office is the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s re-establishment of control.
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