How Biden Persuaded Scholz to Release a Top Kremlin Assassin
- Close relationship between German, US leaders was key to deal
- Biden cites German concessions, Scholz sees solidarity with US
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The historic prisoner swap that brought about the release of US journalist Evan Gershkovich and 15 others was made possible by a personal promise German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made to US President Joe Biden during a White House visit. But until Thursday, it was far from clear the plan would succeed.
During the Feb. 9 trip, Biden appealed to Scholz to release Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian killer serving a life sentence for murder in Germany, as part of a complex six-country arrangement.