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CNN International: Americans Released from Russia En Route Back to U.S.; 24 Prisoners Exchanged Between Seven Countries in Historic Swap; Gershkovich and Whelan Freed from Russian Prison; White House Officials Briefing on U.S.-Russia Prisoner Swap; Russian State Media Releases New Video of Prisoner Release. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 01, 2024 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to another hour of breaking news coverage. I'm Erica Hill in New York.

Let's get you caught up on all the latest in the breaking news that we're following at this hour. A number of Americans now on their way back to the United States, that's after they were freed as part of a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West, the largest of its kind since the end of the Cold War.

A plane carrying those Americans just taking off from the airport in Ankara. Turkey, of course, had served as the mediator here. Turkey says 24 prisoners and also two children from seven different countries released as part of this deal. Among them Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who, of course, have been held in Russia. Gershkovich has been in a Russian prison since March of last year. Whelan has been there since 2018.

A number of others were released from Russia, among them Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist, also Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British politician, and also a U.S. resident. President Biden calling this news a "huge relief," also a feat of diplomacy. Mr. Biden is speaking from the White House just a short time ago in the last hour was surrender -- surrounded by some of the family members of those who had been freed and called the deal, as I noted, not only a feat of diplomacy, but also a friendship and took a special moment to really go in on the importance of allies and in thanking allies in getting this job done.

CNN's Matthew Chance, who, of course, has spent years reporting from Russia. You were actually in the courtroom during that appeal hearing last year for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Matthew, I know you've been reaching out to some of your sources as well, as we're watching all of this play out. The fact to what we heard from the president just a short time ago, really going in on how much allies matter, how much those allies were the reason that this deal was able to get done. That is an important message in the face of this deal with Russia. MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's obviously been a very important aspect of getting this deal across the line. And of course, President Biden is making a political point internally in the United States, because, you know, there's a sense in which President Trump or Former President Trump has dismissed the cooperation with allies. And so, that's what's going on there.

But I think that this was also a very important tactical victory for President Biden. He was surrounding himself, as you said, with the families of the U.S. citizens and others who have been benefiting from this swap. And he -- at one point, they sang happy birthday to the 13- year-old daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, who is the Russian-U.S. journalist, who is one of them, who is part of this prisoner swap deal.

So, it's an important sort of moment for President Biden as he comes to the end of his single presidential term. But I think the sort of elephant in the room and the undeniable fact is that this may have been a tactical victory for Biden, but it's been a strategic one for Vladimir Putin. And it's kind of vindicated Putin's strategy of taking bargaining chips in the form of innocent people, accusing them of serious crimes, convicting them and sentencing them to long periods in Russian penal colleges -- colonies. And then, you know, swapping them for concessions, trading them as bargaining chips for concessions from United States and from the West. That appears to have worked.

It's worked on a grand scale on this occasion. It's worked on a smaller scale sort of in the past. And sort of that raises sort of moral questions about whether this should have been done or not. I personally think it should have been, you know, for the sake of the individuals concerned. But nevertheless, that's an ethical dilemma that people have had to grapple with and have grappled with.

[13:05:00]

But nevertheless, yes, a big victory for Biden. But I think they'll be celebrating in the Kremlin as well tonight.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. And look, it's important that you bring that up. We cannot look at this deal without acknowledging those realities and the way that Vladimir Putin has played this. Matthew, appreciate it as always.

Also, with me this hour, CNN's Nic Robertson, our international diplomatic editor. Nic, as we look at all of this, as Matthew rightly points out here, right, there is this aspect of it, Putin saying he wanted parody essentially in this deal, which then brings us back to just how quickly this sort of sham trial for Evan Gershkovich moved along and how quickly that conviction came for him on these, I think we can call them trumped up charges of espionage, just ahead of this deal getting done. That happened just, of course, last month.

What we also heard from President Biden there, he was talking about the importance of working with allies. What I was struck by is, I believe it was our colleague MJ Lee, who shouted out a question to the president at the end of those remarks that he just made at the White House, asking what Germany offered up in exchange to agree to this deal, because it was a big deal, the person that they released there. And President Biden said nothing.

Nic, as we look at this from this global perspective, from what this means for these allies on the world stage, just walk us through the importance of that admission.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think it's very important for President Biden to project this image to European partners that a Democrat president is one that's going to work in their interest, because I think they're all aware at the moment that a Republican president, which it still seems to be a possibility in the elections in November is not going to be minded to work with allies and with partners. It's going to be much more isolationist.

So, I think this is an important message for allies. Obviously, it has deep domestic resonance in the United States because it will -- he will hope, obviously, encourage people to vote for Kamala Harris. But in the context of what he said about the Germans, about the German chancellor, he thanked him specifically.

Think about here for a moment, the tempestuous relationship that Former President Donald Trump had with Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor's predecessor, Angela Merkel, at times seemed to berate her. And at one breakfast meeting, I can't remember if it was a G20, a G7, or a NATO meeting, you know, coming in and essentially telling her that Germany needed to pay more for NATO, a very sort of transactional type of relationship.

And what President Biden is saying here is this is done through friendship with allies through common interests. It's not transactional. The Germans said, look, we took this decision because we had an obligation to the safety and security of German citizens. There were two Germans who were released, Rico Krieger, who was held in Belarus. He was a humanitarian worker and a German resident who's an opponent of Putin, an outspoken opponent of Putin. Ilya Yashin was also released.

So, the Germans did get a couple of people released, but there was no quid pro quo, if you will, in that relationship with -- when President Biden asked for Germany for that help. And that's really what President Biden wanted a signal there, and that's what the Germans are today of signaling as well. They wanted to help out the United States, that they've said that about their reasoning as well for why they did this.

So, if you are Europe -- if you're in Europe and you're a European leader at the moment, you will certainly look upon the achievements of President Biden and hope that you can have a similar president in the next -- after the next election. Of course, no one in Europe gets a vote. No European leader gets a vote on this. They have to wait and watch, but this will be an object lesson in how they hope it will turn out.

HILL: Yes, and we'll be watching. 96 days to go now until election day, in case anyone else is counting. Nic Robertson, appreciate it, my friend. Thank you.

So, continuing on with this theme, as Nic was just talking about, what this exchange means in terms of the U.S. standing in the world, in terms of U.S. relations with its allies. Joining me now, Kurt Volker, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO. Mr. Ambassador, good to have you with us at this hour.

So, I'm curious, just from your view, based on everything that we have learned over the last several hours about how long this deal put together, who was involved in this deal, who was involved behind the scenes, including some meetings we're just learning about that Vice President Harris had back in February at the Munich Security Conference, what does it tell you about this deal and are you surprised at all that it was done today?

KURT VOLKER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO (RET.), FORMER U.S. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS AND SENIOR ADVISER, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Yes, I actually am a little bit surprised of the timing. Vladimir Putin could have dragged this out a lot longer. And wanting to do this now after Harris has been named to be the presumptive Democratic nominee and wanting to give this win to the Biden administration right now, it's an interesting set of timing.

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That said, it's a mixed blessing. I'm delighted to see the Americans, Vladimir Kara-Murza, return home. I know -- I have known Vladimir for many years and he's been unjustly detained along with the American citizens there. At the same time, it is an incentive for Putin to keep up this kind of behavior, and you just have to wonder who he's going to take hostage next.

HILL: And so, that also, I think, leads to the question of where does it end?

VOLKER: Exactly. It's not going to end. As long as Putin is Putin and he's in power and he's unchallenged, he will conduct this type of behavior. It works.

HILL: And so, to that point, does it give you pause in watching this? And again, multiple things can be true at once, right? We know this is an incredibly important momentous day for these families, for all of these prisoners who have been released now. And that is not to take away from that homecoming for these folks who were wrongfully detained.

And yet, moving forward, how much leverage does the United States have at this point, do western allies have when it comes to future dealings with Vladimir Putin? Does he hold more of the cards?

ROBERTSON: He does. We don't have leverage with him. And that's why we gave up -- we the West gave up genuine criminals, genuine assassins that have been arrested in countries around the world for deeds that they did in exchange for innocent people whom the Kremlin has just abducted, hoping to then make these kinds of trades. There's nothing that will stop Putin from doing this again. And I think what we need to do is, I think, it is the right call, get these people out. Paul Whelan has been there far too long. Evan Gershkovich had no business being in a Russian jail. Get them out. But now, we've also tried -- we have to try to build a greater position of strength vis-a-vis Russia.

HILL: So, how do you think we do that? How do you think the U.S. does that?

VOLKER: Well, I think it's a number of things. I think Ukraine is critically important in this. We have to demonstrate to Putin that we have the stamina, the determination, the capability to defeat Russian forces inside Ukraine. Reverberations inside Russia, if we actually do that. We need to invest in our own defense capability, our own defense industry so that we are able to produce more.

Right now, Russia is ramping up its economy on a war footing. We are not doing that. In fact, it's not even clear we're increasing our defense budget. We've got to be moving in that direction.

And what President Biden did emphasize, I think he's absolutely right, showing that we do have a strong alliance, that we have a group of countries far stronger together than we are separately, and we share common values, common interests and a willingness to work together.

HILL: And in terms of those alliances, what we're seeing, even in the case of Germany, I'll keep going back to this because it was such a big deal, right? To get the German chancellor to agree to this, to agree to release, you know, this former FSB colonel. There is also an understanding of yes, it's a give and take in these relationships, but the give is not always going to get a take in that moment. Moving forward, what does that mean for the U.S. in terms of its bargaining power with its own allies?

VOLKER: Yes. Well, I think this one is going to be seen as a success around the alliance, that it was a difficult decision, a decision that will obviously not end hostage taking, but get us beyond this current point. It'll be seen among allies as good cooperation and good working together. And of course, Germany did get one of its own citizens released as a result of this as well.

Going forward, it's going to be more of the same. We have to show greater strength in the face of Putin if we want to change his behavior.

HILL: Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker, great to have you with us this afternoon. Thank you.

And just one more note, we are learning that Vladimir Putin has now signed a decree pardoning all of those who released in Thursday's prisoner swap. That's according to the Kremlin. Stay with us. Obviously, the headlines coming in very quickly here. Our breaking news coverage continues on the other side of the short break.

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[13:15:00]

HILL: I want to get you straight to the White House officials now briefing on that U.S.-Russia prisoner swap. Let's listen in.

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Thank you, Karine. And good afternoon, everyone. Today, as you've seen and heard from the president and from Karine, we've completed one of the largest and certainly the most complex exchange in history.

And Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara- Murza, three American citizens and one American green card holder, are finally coming home. I had the honor and pleasure of joining the president this morning in the Oval Office as he shared the wonderful news with the families. And then, together, they spoke with Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir, who are on the tarmac in Ankara with U.S. officials where the exchange happened. To say that everyone in the room was overjoyed, even at a loss for words, is an understatement.

Since taking office, President Biden and Vice President Harris have made clear that they will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. As an administration, we're proud to celebrate the return home of over 70 such Americans, from places around the world like Afghanistan, Burma, Gaza, Haiti, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Rwanda, and elsewhere.

Today's exchange is a feat of diplomacy that honestly could only be achieved by a leader like Joe Biden. At his direction, the professionals in our national security, foreign policy, and intelligence community worked tirelessly and relentlessly to secure the release of 16 individuals who were detained in Russia, the three American citizens, one American green car holder, five German citizens and seven Russian political prisoners in exchange for eight individuals held in a combination of the United States, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Poland.

The president was himself personally engaged in the diplomacy that brought this about, including multiple conversations with Chancellor Scholz, with the other leaders of the countries who provided some of the Russians as part of the exchange. And most recently, as has now been reported, calling the prime minister of Slovenia early in the afternoon of Sunday, July 21st to coordinate the final arrangements to make the final piece of this deal fall into place.

There is no more singular or concrete demonstration that the alliances that the president has reinvigorated around the world matter to Americans, to the individual safety of Americans and to the collective security of Americans. And we're deeply grateful to our allies who supported us in these complex negotiations to achieve this outcome. And while I'm standing at this podium, the president is reaching out to give personal thanks to the leaders of Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey.

And honestly, guys, I can just say this was vintage Joe Biden, rallying American allies. to save American citizens and Russian freedom fighters and doing it with intricate statecraft, pulling his whole team together to drive this across the finish line.

His goal has always been to put the families first. The families who are enduring an unimaginable ordeal. From the president on down, we've stayed in regular and routine touch with them. I spent a lot of time with the families of Evan and Paul and Alsu. And most of the time, as you can imagine, those are tough conversations, but not today.

Today -- excuse me. Today was a very good day, and we're going to build on it, drawing inspiration and continued courage from it -- for all of those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world. And that includes Mark Fogle, who we are actively working to get his release from Russia as well. And there are others being held in Syria, Afghanistan, other countries around the world who we are working to get released.

[13:20:00]

And just on a personal note, I want to say that this is the culmination of a monumental level of effort and level of skill by my teammates across the national security enterprise. My colleagues here at the NSC, my colleagues at the Central Intelligence Agency, my colleagues at the State Department. These are dedicated, talented professionals who are not in the headlines, who don't get to stand at a podium like this one. And it was at the president's direction that they built and pulled off the most intricate, expansive deal of its kind in memory.

So, they know who they are. I salute them. And every American should be proud to have those kind of people standing up on their behalf and on behalf of American security.

While this has unfolded, we've been closely monitoring the events in the Middle East as well. Since October 7th, we have worked to deter and prevent escalation into a wider regional war. That risk has always been there. That risk is there now, and we are determined to engage in deterrence, defense, and de-escalation to try to ensure that we do not have a wider regional conflict or escalation that goes unchecked.

So, I'm happy to get more into that in response to your questions. And with that, I'll turn it over to you. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Jake. Whose idea was it to try to go big and bring everyone home at once instead of going for a simpler one for one type deal, and why?

SULLIVAN: That's a great question which I don't feel entirely comfortable answering because this was an organic process involving a lot of people across our government. But what I will say is this, the president sat us down on a regular basis over the course of the detentions of Paul, Evan, and Alsu, and really pushed us to think about what configuration would actually work to make this happen.

And it was through an iterative process of back and forth with various of the allies I mentioned, with engagements with our Russian counterparts, where we were making proposals, getting responses that this all came together. And so, I would say that if you had not had Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office, I don't think this would have happened.

But as I said in my remarks, there were a lot of other people who played a central role in building out the pieces of this and then executing on that. And the execution phase of this, to get this level of coordination together, to have those planes all land on the tarmac at the same time from multiple different countries with so many different individuals coming from Russia and going back to Russia really extraordinary. And I think, you know, team effort can be a cliche, but I think in this case it's a warranted description of what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And was Alexei Navalny supposed to be a part of this deal before he died in prison?

SULLIVAN: So, we had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny. And unfortunately, he died. In fact, on the very day that he died, I saw Evan's parents, and I told them that the president was determined to get this done, even in light of that tragic news, and that we were going to work day and night to get to this day. And so, that work continued over the course of the past few months and culminated in today. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You mentioned it a little bit, but can you describe and give us a little bit more color on that Oval Office conversation just before the president came out? Did all four Americans get to speak? Did each of the family members get to speak to their loved ones? Did the president tear up? Did you tear up?

SULLIVAN: I saved my tearing up for this podium. I would like to strike that from the record. If you could do that. I don't know if that's permitted. Probably not. So, the president invited the family members in at the moment that we received the word from the tarmac in Ankara that the exchange was complete, and he was able to give them the news directly that the exchange was, in fact, complete.

Then Paul, Evan, and Alsu you were in one place. Vladimir was actually in another place. So, he conducted two calls from the Oval Office, one with the three American citizens on the phone, and he welcomed their freedom, said, you know, that on behalf of the American people, he was so proud to have them out, and then very quickly turned the phone over to their family members, and each family got the opportunity to engage by phone with their loved one who was out.

[13:20:00]

He then conducted a second call with Vladimir and Vladimir's wife, one of their daughters and their son were there to be able to speak with him and the president, and he also got to reminisce on the fact that they were both pallbearers together at John McCain's wedding -- not wedding, John McCain's funeral.

And so, it was a kind of extraordinary personal exchange in the Oval Office, and the family members were both overwhelmed, of course, by the events of the day and also standing there in the presence of the U.S. president at the Resolute Desk. So, it was quite a moment. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And can you talk about how the administration tries to make sure this doesn't incentivize more arrests of innocent Americans, beyond what the president said, advising people not to go abroad in certain places, especially because you're looking at this inherent imbalance between releasing -- or between securing the release of innocent American exchange for rightfully convicted criminals, including murder?

SULLIVAN: Look, it's a fair question. It's a question that we grapple with every time that we look at the hard decisions involved in one of these exchanges. It is difficult to send back a convicted criminal to secure the release of an innocent American. And yet, sometimes the choices between doing that and consigning that person basically to live out their days in prison in a hostile foreign country or in the hands of a hostile power.

So, from our perspective, we have assessed and analyzed that risk and we have judged that the benefit of reuniting Americans, of bringing people home and also of vindicating the idea that the American president and the American government are going to do what it takes to protect and secure the release of innocent Americans, that that benefit outweighs the risk, and that's how we have proceeded.

I would point out in addition to that, that in periods of time when the U.S. government didn't tend to do prisoner exchanges, Americans were unjustly detained and held hostage overseas. In periods where we did, Americans were unjustly detained and held hostage overseas. So, I think there are real questions.

And Roger Carstens is the hostage negotiator at the State Department has actually pointed out that in this analysis, it is not quite as clear cut that the evidence actually demonstrates the kind of result that your question speaks to that, you know, a lot more people get taken because we do these exchanges. But it's something that we have to pay attention to, and it's something that makes these decisions by the president, not simple decisions, hard decisions, and yet, as he did today, he was prepared to make them. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you explain a bit more, when did it become clear that Krasikov was this linchpin to a deal like this, and was it during the negotiations over Brittney Griner?

SULLIVAN: When you're engaged in a negotiation and one side lays down a position, there's not like a light bulb moment when you say, OK, that position is immovable. That has to be tested and alternatives have to be suggested, and proposals get put on the table and rejected, new proposals and rejected. So, it is less of aha moment. OK. Now, we know. And it's more something that you accumulate through the experience of the negotiation. And so, over the course of this negotiation, we did reach the conclusion that Krasikov was a key.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've discussed, obviously, the president's involvement, direct involvement in all of this. Can you talk us through any involvement that the vice president had? Was she also speaking directly to other leaders and allies? SULLIVAN: So, as I said in my opening comments, both President Biden and Vice President Harris have made the return of unjustly detained Americans hostage -- American hostages in absolute priority. And in this particular case, Vice President Harris actually had an opportunity to engage with Chancellor Scholz earlier this year at an opportune and timely moment at the Munich Security Conference, where she talked about this issue with him.

That followed on a conversation that the president had just a short time before that, and it was in the run of high-level engagements and a back and forth that the president and the chancellor were having, that Vice President Harris was actually able to sit face-to-face with Chancellor Scholz and talk through the elements of this.

And then, I've sat in the Oval Office more times than I can count over the course of the past years providing briefings and updates on this and getting peppered with questions by both the president and the vice president, thinking through the strategy, iterating the approach, which she was a participant in very much core member of the team that helped make this happen. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two quick questions. One is it relates to the president's interactions with Chancellor Scholz. It's been detailed to us, but maybe from the podium you could help us understand. Chancellor Scholz had to make a big sacrifice giving up Krasikov here, a Russian criminal. What specifically did the German chancellor say to President Biden about his willingness to do this?

[13:30:00]

SULLIVAN: Well, I will leave that to Chancellor Scholz because I think for, you know, important and sensitive conversations leaders should speak for themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The White House said -- you said, for you, and then he said, I will do this. Is that fair? And if so, can you at least detail that?

SULLIVAN: I can confirm that he did say that, but I thought you were asking sort of to elaborate in greater detail, which I just -- I'm afraid I don't feel comfortable doing because he can speak to his conversations with the president.

What I will say, and President Biden made this point when he spoke to the press just a short time ago, that relationship between the president and the chancellor, a relationship of respect, a relationship of genuine friendship had the character of being able to work through this sensitive issue in a way that wasn't antiseptic or professional. It was two guys actually trying to figure out a solution. That was the nature of all of the conversations. And ultimately, the chancellor was able to say to the president, let's do this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And just to be clear, my second question, today is clearly a day of celebration, but already there is some criticism, including from the Republican vice-presidential nominee, J. D. Vance, who moments ago said, I think what this demonstrates, I think that really what this shows is that a lot of bad guys across the world are worried that Donald Trump is coming back into office. Your response to those comments?

SULLIVAN: I don't follow. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Jake. Can you talk about what, if any, engagement U.S. officials had with Vladimir Putin as part of this?

SULLIVAN: No engagement directly with Vladimir Putin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about his deputies?

SULLIVAN: There was extensive engagement with Russian officials over the course of this. I'm not going to get into the details because those channels are sensitive and need to be protected for exactly this reason. Because having those sensitive channels enables us to produce results like today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then, last week in the Oval Office, President Biden said that he remains committed to bringing Americans home during his final six months in office. How important was it for him to get this deal before leaving office?

SULLIVAN: Honestly, I don't think he was thinking about it, like, I got to get it before I leave office. He was thinking about it from the family's perspective, which is every day is a lost day. So, I want to do this as rapidly as humanly possible. I want to push the pace on it, because the longer that these Americans are held abroad, the greater the risk and the greater the pain.

So, for him, it was really important to do the deal, but less tied to his time in office and more tied to the power and responsibility he had and wanted to exercise to get this done as fast as he possibly could. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jake, can I just want to follow up on this interaction with the Russians? I mean, does this in any way lay any groundwork for discussions about the war in Ukraine with the Ukrainians? I mean, just to sort of say, look, we've cooperated on this. Is there any path that this creates any sort of goodwill in terms of, you know, creating more discussion?

SULLIVAN: We do not see a link between the hostage negotiation or the detained persons negotiations and any potential diplomacy over the war in Ukraine. We see those as operating on separate tracks. One is really about the practical issue of producing this exchange. The other is a much more complex question where the Ukrainians will be in the lead and the United States will consult closely with all of our allies to support them when they are prepared to step forward and engage in those -- in that kind of diplomacy. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I just follow up on -- so, if we can't have you here and not ask you what was happening and unfolding in the Middle East and with Iran and with this -- the killing of Haniyeh, can you please just give us your assessment of how high the temperature really is and how great the risks are now an all-out war, a bigger war?

SULLIVAN: Just taking a step back, we have been laser focused on trying to prevent that wider war since October 7th. There have been moments that have required intensive effort to keep a lid on things. The risk has always been there and the risk remains today. And we believe we do have to be engaging in intensive efforts now through deterrence, through de-escalation, through diplomacy to prevent a wider war, and we will continue to do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Thanks, Jake. Back in May, Former President Trump made the comment that Russia would release Evan Gershkovich for him after the upcoming election "but not for anyone else." Did that comment complicate negotiations at all, and do you have a response to Trump's comment now?

SULLIVAN: Look, I'm just happy these guys are out and home, and I won't wade into the comments of the former president. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about Jimmy Wilgus? Are you working on him?

SULLIVAN: Yes.

[13:35:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jake, you noted that the president spoke to the leader of Slovenia right around the time he was making his decision on his political future. How much was the thinking that he had to go through on his future part of this process leading up to these negotiations? Was this something that weighed on him for days ahead of these calls?

SULLIVAN: Look, to be honest with you, the way in which this unfolded played out over the course of weeks, even months to put all of the pieces in place. So, the timing and the cadence of the different elements coming together was a feature of the diplomacy and the decision making of each of the countries involved. It wasn't about American politics, the American political calendar, president's thinking on other issues.

And it did happen to line up on that Sunday in that way, but not through a conscious decision to make it so, but rather because that's when the pieces were falling into place. And that's the moment when the president had to drop that final piece in. And it just so happened to come a couple of hours before he made his announcement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when do you think we will actually see them on American soil, or will the president (INAUDIBLE) them in person?

SULLIVAN: I think you can expect to see Evan, Paul, and Alsu later tonight on American soil. And as the president mentioned in his remarks earlier, they'll be landing at Andrews Air Force Base. The president and the vice president will be out there to greet them. Vladimir Kara-Murza is going to be traveling to Germany. And his family who was here with the president this morning will be traveling there to join him. But as Vladimir and the president discussed today, we expect him back here in the United States soon for him to be able to see the president and other people in the U.S. government. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Jake. Switching gears for a moment, I want to ask you about the plea deal that was reached with 9/11 suspects by military -- in the military courts down in Guantanamo. Republicans are condemning this as showing weakness and calling it a sweetheart deal because it avoids a trial and the death penalty. I was wondering if the administration has any response to that.

SULLIVAN: As we said last night, the White House received word that the convening authority had entered these pretrial agreements that had been negotiated by military prosecutors with KSM and some of the other 9/11 defendants. And we had no role in that process. The president had no role. The vice president had no role, I had no role. The White House had no role. And we were informed yesterday, the same day that they went out publicly, that this pretrial agreement had been accepted by the convening authority.

What the president did upon learning of that was direct his team to consult as appropriate with officials and lawyers at the Department of Defense on this matter. Those consultations are ongoing and I have nothing more to add at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And one more thing, on Iran, Israel, Hamas negotiations, now that the lead Hamas negotiator is dead, who is there to negotiate with and why in your estimation would Hamas continue towards negotiating a ceasefire deal when their only negotiator was just killed by the people they're negotiating with?

SULLIVAN: It is too soon to tell what the impact of his death will have on the negotiations. And so, I'm not going to speculate on that, especially in light of the broader dynamics and set of events unfolding in the region right now. What I will say is this, the ceasefire and hostage deal is the pathway to ending this war. It is the pathway to getting all of the hostages home, including the American citizen hostages who are relentlessly focused on getting home. And we remain determined to get it done. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Did the president have a call today with Prime Minister Netanyahu or is he having one?

SULLIVAN: I believe the Israeli government has put out that they're having a call. We had not announced that yet. But in fact, the president is intending to speak with Prime Minister Netanyahu later today. They have not spoken yet. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And is the president going to express any displeasure about not having a heads up about the attack on the Hamas leader or these other big things that have happened in the last few days with Israel taking countermeasures?

SULLIVAN: So, I'm not going to preview the president's message before he has a chance to speak directly to the prime minister. And then, if I had to predict, I probably will be tight lipped about the readout afterward. Yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Jake. I just wondered if you could make clear for us, when was the actual moment when you really knew that this deal was going to be done and that it was sealed, or was that not really until today and you actually saw them, the released people on the tarmac in Ankara?

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SULLIVAN: We steadily gained confidence following the president's call on the 21st of July. But that confidence was always tempered by the reality that this was a fragile deal, a complex deal that could fall apart at any moment from multiple different directions. So, we held our breath and crossed our fingers until just a couple hours ago. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jake, I wanted to ask about arms control treaties. It seems like Russia's been backsliding when it comes to these deals. What is the update with that? Is there any progress with getting them to rejoin any of these treaties?

SULLIVAN: No. The short answer is there is no progress. We have tried to engage and I have publicly stated, and my colleagues have also laid out our view that there is an arms control agenda that's in the interests of the security of the United States, our allies, and frankly, global stability. And we have not seen reciprocity on the Russian side to engage in those discussions at this time.

So, we're obviously working very closely with NATO, with our other allies and partners to ensure that our security is going to be strong, resilient, and credible no matter what comes next, but we do remain available to engage in arms control, as we did with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Last question. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Jake. Can you just confirm that no money was exchanged, no sanctions were loosened to facilitate this deal?

SULLIVAN: Yes, I can confirm that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And can you also speak to why the president chose not to use his moment in front of the cameras to deliver a warrant to Putin? He said I don't need to speak to Putin, but what he didn't convey was a price that countries will pay if they abduct Americans for political purposes.

SULLIVAN: We have made clear through every conceivable channel, and the president has made clear publicly on repeated occasions over the last two years about the costs and consequences of aggression, standing against United States interests, and of taking actions that we believe are unlawful and unjust. We're going to continue to do that as we go forward.

For the President today, this was a moment to thank our allies, it was a moment to celebrate the families, and most importantly, it was a moment to lift up the human achievement of getting both Americans, citizens of friendly countries and Russian political prisoners out. But as the president said, he doesn't need to talk to Putin for Putin to understand where the president stands. Thank you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about Jimmy Wilgus? He's been there eight years, Jake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Jake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eight years.

HILL: So, you've just been listening there, of course, to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan taking a number of questions. Just let me give you a few of the headlines coming out of there as he was facing a number of questions. At the end there was asked whether any money was exchanged or any sanctions weakened or lifted as part of this deal. Jake Sullivan saying no.

Also talking about this deal was steadily -- they were steadily gaining confidence in the deal following a call that the president had on the same day that he announced he was leaving the presidential race, July 21st, when he had a call with the prime minister of Slovenia, but saying -- and these are Jake Sullivan's words here, but we held our breath and crossed our fingers really until just a few hours ago.

There has been much made about this being a day to celebrate the return of these Americans. Of course, not just Americans but return of all of these prisoners who have been released. There have also been questions about what this means in terms of perhaps incentivizing Vladimir Putin to take more innocent people hostage to then try to hold them as bargaining chips to get back some of the convicted criminals that he may want.

Jake Sullivan saying he -- what he has been told by Roger Carstens, who is, of course, the U.S. Special Envoy for hostage takers, is that it has been made clear to him that it is not as clear cut, that when there is an exchange, when people are detained, are unjustly detained, when they're held overseas or not, that it does add to further incentive, but of course, those are some of the questions that people had had.

You know, a lot of talk about how this deal was worked out. He continually coming back to the point that this would not have happened without U.S. allies and without U.S. allies being on board here that this was months of diplomacy by Joe Biden. Also talking about the role of the vice president here, and we're learning a little bit more about her role in a couple of key exchanges, including one with the German chancellor in February at the Munich Security Conference.

You're also seeing on your screen here, these are new images of coming in. So, you see Paul Whelan making his way up the stairs there of a plane. We are seeing some of the other folks who've been released here as well. These are images from Russian TV being given to us. We've been watching all of this.

My colleague Priscilla Alvarez is at the White House. What a morning it has been for you, my friend. A lot of development as we know, getting a lot of details from Jake Sullivan there. There are still more questions. We heard from the president earlier. Just bring up us up to speed on where things stand at this hour at the White House.

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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Erica, you could certainly feel the weight of the day during that White House briefing. It's been clear just how momentous and historic of a day it's been with this massive prisoner swap. But Jake Sullivan, the president's national security adviser, he's not one to really get emotional.

And during that briefing, he was fighting back tears as he was talking about the welcome news that he was able to share with the families of these Americans that they would be released. This is something that he along with his team have been furiously working on behind the scenes, and he described the family members as being overjoyed and gave us a little bit of a -- little bit of color as to what that looked like this morning with the families coming to the White House, waiting to be invited into the Oval Office when the president, his team knew that these Americans had been released, that the exchange was complete.

There was two phone calls made, one with Paul, Evan, and Alsu. The -- each of the family members were able to talk to the three of them who were together. Then a separate call with Vladimir. So, this has been, again, a momentous day, one that you really can't overstate, but it was also one that took a long time to get here.

You think back to December of 2022 when Brittney Griner was released and the president, when he also gave an address at that moment, had acknowledged that Paul Whelan wasn't part of that exchange. Of course, Evan Gershkovich had not yet been detained. And he said at the time he could feel the mixed emotions from Paul's family. Well, that's not the case today because they're all part of this deal. And so, that is something that the president himself was commending when he was flanked by family members.

And later today, he will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris as they go to the tarmac and they greet these prisoners when they're released over the course of the afternoon, according to the national security adviser, the president will also be making a slew of calls to world leaders to thank them for their help. The president saying earlier today that they really stepped up and it was because of the strength of alliances and partnerships that they were able to get this across the finish line.

Because again, Erica, in this entire process, the U.S. had to find people that Russia would take in exchange for these Americans to be released, among others and that required looking across the globe, and it was why some of those conversations were so key with Germany and Slovenia.

HILL: Yes. Absolutely. Priscilla, appreciate the reporting as always. Thank you. Also, with me now, Brett Bruen, who served as director of Global Engagement in the Obama White House. Brett, good to have you with us this hour. As we look at what we've learned, just in the last hour or so, hearing from both the president, hearing from the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, as we look at how this deal came together and the fact that it really was in the last couple of weeks, according to Jake, that they steadily gained confidence were his words after that call on July 21st with the prime minister of Slovenia, but they were holding their breath and crossing their fingers until this moment actually happened. Just walk us through what those moments would be like in the White House and just how delicate a dance this is.

BRETT BRUEN, FORMER U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL, FORMER DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT, OBAMA WHITE HOUSE AND PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: Well, I think a delicate dance is a good way of describing it because it involves so many intricate steps, and I think the fact that it wasn't just one other country, but you had multiple other countries that had to see it both in their interest, and in some cases, as it sounds like with the president's conversation with the prime minister of Slovenia, they had to be convinced, and this is not an easy thing to do, having been in the room for some of ttose discussions, because what the U.S. administration is asking is essentially go against your own interest on this one, and in the longer run, it will serve your interest.

So, I will say, well, you know, Jake Sullivan mentioned that there were no specific favors that were promised. There are certainly a whole lot of IOU stacked up on the desks of, you know, German foreign ministry folks, of the Norwegians, the Slovenians, the Poles.

HILL: There are also concerns, and you tweeted about this earlier, I believe, about some of the concerns as to what this may mean for Putin and Russia moving forward. Is it some sort of incentive, a growing incentive, for them to take more Americans, more westerners hostage? You know, Jake Sullivan pushing back on some of that criticism in the briefing just now, saying that he's been told there's no real evidence that is the way things work. Would you agree with that statement?

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BRUEN: Well, I think the fact of the matter is that the Biden administration has gone farther than any prior administration in both what it is willing to offer concessions on, today being the prime example, but also, the level of involvement of the president, the national security adviser, the secretary of state, you know, for a long time, for decades, we had a policy that we do not negotiate with terrorists, we do not negotiate with autocrats over these kinds of detentions, precisely because it can incentivize them to take more. And I think we saw that with the tension of Evan after Brittney Griner's detention and then release.

And so, I think there, you know, is a slippery slope here. Look, this is by any stretch of evaluation, a momentous today for American diplomacy, but I'm worried about tomorrow.

HILL: Brett, really great to have you with us and to have your insight. Thank you.

BRUEN: You bet.

HILL: Just ahead here, he is calling it a major feat of diplomacy. Those are the words of President Biden. A closer look at this prisoner swap, a historic one, the largest since the Cold War between Russia and the West. What more we're learning at this hour.

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HILL: More now on our breaking news. This historic prisoner swap involving 26 people, two of them well-known Americans, Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich. We're also just learning that Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with the widow of Alexei Navalny earlier today.

The White House earlier today saying that there was a deal in the works. He would have been part of that, of course, though he died in Russian custody earlier this year. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, joining us now from Washington, D.C.

So, we're learning about this call with the vice president and Jake Sullivan, of course, was asked specifically about Alexei Navalny during this briefing that we just had at the White House, Nic.

ROBERTSON: Yes. And very clearly, we can see through what has happened, how the Kremlin has manipulated Alexei Navalny's death the following day, allowing Paul Whelan to make a phone call to Jen Hansler here at CNN where he expressed his concern about his own safety and security in jail. It was clearly a pressure point.

So, while the White House was trying to get a deal that would have allowed Alexei Navalny to be released and part of this big exchange, the Kremlin clearly -- because I don't think anyone accepts the Kremlin's explanation of how Alexei Navalny died in their custody, that the fundamental belief is that he was killed by the Russian authorities, something they obviously say wasn't true. That clearly stopped his release.

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Putin continue to put pressure to get the people back that he wanted. And of course, you know, a day like today for Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny's widow, would just be horrible. Because it would bring back all the anxieties and fears and the knowledge that she too could have had her husband back, where he alive, that their children could have had their father back. And of course, sadly, that's not the case.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. Nic, appreciate it. And I've been grateful to have you with us all day long walking us through all of this. Thank you so much.

Thanks to all of you for joining us on this historic day. So, much breaking news. So, much to get to. And our coverage continues in just a moment. Stay tuned, "Isa Soares Tonight" is up next.

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