Republican and Democratic lawmakers celebrated the return of Americans imprisoned in Russia on what they criticized as politically motivated charges, but expressed concern that the Russian prisoner swap could encourage future hostage takings.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was “thrilled” by the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and green card holder and Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza.
But he expressed concern about the release of Russian prisoners as part of the swap, namely a convicted murderer from a German prison and convicted criminals held in the US.
“I remain concerned that we continue to exchange innocent Americans for real Russian criminals detained in the U.S. and elsewhere, sending a dangerous message to Putin that only encourages more hostage-taking by his regime,” McCaul said in a statement, referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Biden, during a brief press conference announcing the release of the four Americans and 12 others, said he would encourage Americans “not to go to certain places, tell them what’s at risk, what’s at stake,” in an effort to prevent politically motivated hostage taking and arrests.
Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, before the prisoner exchange confirmation, spoke about the challenge of engaging in prisoner exchanges without encouraging more detentions.
“It’s always a mixed blessing, because the detainees in Russia shouldn’t be detained, the prisoners we’re going to exchange are people who have committed really bad things,” he told reporters at a roundtable on Wednesday.
“So it’s always difficult for us to accept that. But the reality is that this is who we are as individuals, these are our values. Our values are to take care of people who are unjustly detained, if we can free them. We are prepared to do certain sacrifices, which is unfair, but it provides certain hope for people who should not be incarcerated.”
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called the exchange of Americans for Russian prisoners in the U.S. and elsewhere “not equal.”
“Wrongfully detained U.S. citizens are not the same as Russian war criminals. In the Senate, we will continue to oppose all of Putin’s attempts to use Americans as political pawns to achieve his egregious goals. We will never stop fighting for Americans held hostage or unjustly detained, whether by Hamas, [Chinese Communist Party]Putin or anyone else,” Young said in a statement.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
