Biden and Duda discuss historic prisoner exchange with Russia

The Office of the President has announced that President Joe Biden called Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday evening. The conversation focused on, among other topics, the exchange of prisoners between Western countries and Russia.

The Presidential Palace shared details of the conversation on social media late Thursday evening.

"This evening, U.S. President Joe Biden called President Andrzej Duda to thank Poland for its assistance in the release of American citizens unlawfully imprisoned in Russia," stated the Office of the President.

The statement added that during the conversation, "the presidents emphasized the strength of allied bonds and the strategic partnership between Poland and the United States."

In Ankara on Thursday, the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries since the Cold War occurred, according to international agencies. As reported by the Turkish service Anatolia, the operation involved 24 individuals from prisons in seven countries, including Poland, and two children.

The communication department at the Turkish president's office revealed that the exchange included individuals from prisons in the "USA, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia, and Belarus."

Ten prisoners, including two minors, were relocated to Russia, thirteen to Germany, and three to the USA.

Among those exchanged were "The Wall Street Journal" correspondent Evan Gershkovich, former soldier Paul Whelan, who had been sentenced to 16 years in Russia, and anti-Kremlin opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The White House had earlier confirmed that they were trying to secure the release of Navalny, who died on February 16 in a penal colony above the Arctic Circle. Among those released in the prisoner exchange were three activists who had led Navalny's campaigns in various regions of Russia: Lilia Chanysheva, Vadim Ostanin, and Ksenia Fadeyeva.

Putin signed decrees pardoning all prisoners exchanged for Russians held in the West.