After the historic meeting in Ankara, President Biden thanked Turkey.

US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Turkey for its role in the prisoner exchange operation led by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken made written statements regarding the exchange operation led by MIT and held in Ankara. In his statement, Biden expressed his happiness that 4 individuals, including 3 American citizens and a Green Card holder, will return home from the "unjustly detained prison in Russia".

THANKS TO TURKEY

Biden also thanked the countries involved in the release of individuals named Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, stating, "I am grateful to our allies such as Turkey, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Norway for reaching this outcome during these difficult and complex negotiations."

US Secretary of State Blinken also stated, "We are grateful to our allies Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia, who made this agreement possible. We also thank the Turkish government for providing a safe return for these individuals to the US and Germany."

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE EXCHANGE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE US

A comprehensive prisoner exchange agreement was reached between Russia and the US. As part of the agreement involving the US, Russia, Germany, Slovenia, and Belarus, 3 US citizens and Russian prisoners, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were released today.

"OUR ORGANIZATION PLAYED A MAJOR MEDIATION ROLE"

In a statement from MIT, it was stated, "An exchange operation will take place today under the coordination of our organization. Our organization played a major mediation role in this most comprehensive exchange operation of recent times."

This operation has gone down in history as the most comprehensive hostage exchange between the US, Russia, and Germany in recent years. MIT facilitated the establishment of dialogue channels for this historic operation. With the organization by MIT, the parties were brought together in Turkey in July 2024.