Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said that Russia changing its behavior after negotiating on releasing U.S. citizens it had detained was not “a question that entered” the calculus when the United States secured the swap.
The U.S. secured the release of 16 people from Russia on Thursday, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. Former President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), among others, have criticized the deal for potentially incentivizing Russian President Vladimir Putin to detain more U.S. citizens under dubious criminal accusations to secure the release of Russian criminals detained abroad.
