Prisoner swop may only embolden Moscow to take more hostages

US had no option but to give in to Russian pressure, creating a dangerous precedent

- Jonathan Eyal

The swop of 26 prisoners between the United States and Russia on Aug 1 was the "culmination of many rounds of complex, painstaking negotiations over many, many months", according to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

There has never been such a sensational exchange of prisoners between the West and Moscow even during the Cold War, when such deals used to be frequent.

On Aug 1, under great secrecy, government planes from Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Poland, Norway and the US landed at an airport in the Turkish capital of Ankara, each carrying prisoners on board. Masked security guards then started moving the prisoners from one aircraft to the next, in a shuffle resembling a game of speed dating.

Ten were handed over by Western governments to Russia, while the Russians released 16 prisoners, mostly to the US.

Both sides were determined to extract the maximum political capital from the occasion. US President Joe Biden telephoned America's freed citizens while they were still in the air, and greeted each one individually as they landed in Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin received his freed citizens with a red carpet, a guard of honour, bouquets of flowers and promises of future state awards and decorations.

Yet, as significant and gratifying as this is to those currently free on both sides, the prisoner exchange also leaves a bitter aftertaste.

The transaction will only encourage the already well-established Russian practice of using people - including its own citizens as mere commodities that can be held hostage or bartered at will.