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Three Americans Freed in Prisoner Swap Return to U.S.; Prisoner Swap Involved 24 People, 7 Countries; Series of Assassinations Fuel Fears of Wider War. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET

Aired August 02, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Long time coming. (INAUDIBLE) to get it done.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is an extraordinary day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All he said it is that Kamala Harris is a chameleon. She pretends to be somebody different depending on which audience she's in front of.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The greatest of all time and she has the chain to prove it

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

FOSTER: Hello, welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. Chrissy is off today.

It is Friday, August the 2nd, 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where three Americans took their first steps on U.S. soil since being released from Russian prisons.

It's part of the biggest exchange of its kind since the Cold War. U.S. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris welcoming home Marine veteran Paul Whelan there. He spent the past six years in prison. Next off the plane was "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich. He ran to hug his mother and father before speaking with his colleagues.

Also returning to the U.S., Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Her daughters were in tears after not seeing their mother for more than a year. The President and Vice President took a few minutes to speak with reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Remember what I said? Alliances make a difference. They stepped up, they took a chance for us. It mattered a lot.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is an extraordinary day, and I'm very thankful for our president and what he has done over his entire career, but in particular as it relates to these families and these individuals, what he has been able to do to bring the allies together on many issues, but in particular this one. This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, among the others released by Russia, Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza and a number of associates of Alexei Navalny. The White House says he was meant to be part of the deal before his death in a Russian prison.

Now, Russia won the release of eight prisoners held in the West. President Vladimir Putin greeted them Thursday in Moscow. Freedom for convicted assassin Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed in Germany, was critical to getting Putin to agree to this deal. Others included the Russians convicted of espionage in Slovenia and cyber crimes in the U.S.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now in London. What's the process now then for the Americans? Because, you know, great news that they're home.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And we saw in that video footage of the three Americans returning, landing there. I mean, this is a joyous moment, of course, for the family members there.

They were greeted, of course, by President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. All smiles, an emotional reunion, of course, for the family members waiting on the tarmac there. They were given, of course, a moment to be reunited with their family members.

But they are now on route to San Antonio in Texas. They will be heading to the Brook Army Medical Center where they will be undergoing medical checks and evaluation and care there. Some of them are traveling, of course, with family members as well. But, of course, this is an important step, particularly for the Biden administration, to ensure that they are in the best of conditions upon their return.

But this will be a hugely emotional moment for all three. And all of those returned, really, in a huge readjustment, of course.

FOSTER: Can we just talk quickly about the Russian prisoners' release? A lot of people talking about how unfair this is, in a way, you know, convicted criminals, serious crimes being swapped for people who shouldn't have been detained in the first place.

BASHIR: Absolutely. And we heard that in questions to President Biden yesterday from reporters. Some have raised concern that this could essentially be used by Russia in the future as a bargaining chip, that this might actually bolster Russia's cards, if you like, that they might then again detain more Americans, more foreign nationals, in order to meet their own objectives and in order to serve their own purposes.

[04:05:02]

So, that is certainly a concern. President Biden addressed this yesterday. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: That's been the case for all of history. My job is to make sure, number one, they don't get them. If they do, we get them back. I don't buy this idea that you're going to let these people rot in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: Now, of course, there are still foreign nationals, American nationals, detained in Russia. There are concerns that other adversaries might perhaps take inspiration from this. That is a huge point of concern.

We did hear yesterday from the U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. He was actually quite emotional in his statement in the White House, saying that this was a very good day, but that the Biden administration was focused on building on these developments, that this was a foundation point. He said, we are drawing inspiration and continued courage from it for all those who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world.

So, this will still be a focus and perhaps a starting point for other foreign nationals, American nationals, detained overseas.

FOSTER: OK. Nada, thank you so much.

Also joining me from France, Ekaterina Kotrikadze, news director and host at TV Rain. Thank you so much for joining us. What did you make of all this as it unfolded?

EKATERINA KOTRIKADZE, NEWS DIRECTOR AND HOST, TV RAIN: Hello, Max. Thank you very much. This is a great day and a great celebration for those who are released and for those families who were waiting for their loved ones for so long.

And I've been talking to people, to relatives of political prisoners who were released yesterday, and they just could not even imagine that this actually would happen. They were not expecting this.

FOSTER: What will they be going through now, do you think? Because they've got to completely recalibrate, haven't they? Presumably, the military will like to speak to them and then there'll be health checks.

I mean, what's the process as you understand it? KOTRIKADZE: So, they are right now in Germany. They are going through the health check. And then, as I understand, they will go to different countries.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, for example, the citizen of Russian Federation, but also he's a citizen of the United Kingdom and he has a green card. He will go to the U.S., as I understand, because his wife, Evgenia, she met President Biden yesterday, among other relatives, is there waiting for him. And they used to live in the U.S., in Washington, D.C.

And others, they will reunite with their families in different cities, in different European countries, as I understand, for example, in Paris, France, in different German cities and towns. So, right now, they're all together, but then they will start this new life. This is very important to them to start breathing again, because they were at the edge, actually, of the death of Vladimir Kara-Murza, a friend of mine and a great journalist in past, a political activist, a politician during last years. He was poisoned twice before he was detained and they were trying to kill him.

And then during the imprisonment in Russia, unlawful imprisonment, they were torturing him, putting him, throwing him to the solitary confinement and so on and so forth. So, he was actually under the threat after the death, the murder of Alexei Navalny, the leader of Russian opposition. Vladimir was in the same position and under the same threat.

Of course, Ilya Yashin, one of the leaders of Russian opposition also was under this threat. And we were all worried terribly, scared for them to death, I would say, that they would go through the same torturing and punishments by Vladimir Putin's system. But, I mean, this is a victorious day for all of us, for journalists in exile, for political activists, for relatives, of course.

And I understand this, you know, the conversation about what would be the outcome of the swap and was it a right step to take, because I know that, for example, Annalena Baerbock, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany was against this and Olaf Scholz was the one who was making decision process. I understand the concerns, but you just cannot imagine how important it is to save at least one person's life, unlawfully detained person's life. And we are seeing right now more than 10 people who are seeing their kids and families and fathers and mothers again.

I don't know, is there any price that cannot be paid for that? And I really know that Vladimir Putin's killers would kill if he wants them to. And it doesn't matter if he brings this person back or he doesn't bring him back, they would still kill. It's not working like that in the KGB system.

[04:10:00]

FOSTER: Yes, what you're referring to there is the assassin in a German prison who, you know, murdered someone in a park, right? And he is now released and back in Russia. I just want to ask you about Gershkovich, though, because you're obviously a news director.

What does this, you know, the challenge now is how do we report within Russia without taking the risk of sending reporters to Russia? This is a regime that's going to become very difficult to report on, isn't it? Because you're not going to rush to send anyone to Russia, are you?

KOTRIKADZE: Yes, absolutely. My example, I think, says a lot because I cannot go there as a Russian citizen and journalist. I cannot cover my country because I would be detained and thrown to jail immediately, just like other journalists, independent journalists who were forced to leave the country.

After Ivan Gershkovich was detained more than a year ago, there were a lot of foreign journalists who decided to leave the country. And there were a lot of editorial boards of big media outlets, Western media outlets, who understood that there was no chance for their reporters to keep on working in the Russian Federation. There are still people there, of course.

They're very brave colleagues of ours in Moscow, in St. Petersburg and other parts of the Russian Federation. But I think that, you know, as time passes, there would be less and less people who would have an opportunity to stay there, who would have accreditations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who would have an opportunity to cover at least something. And we would get less and less professional reporting from Russia.

The only thing that we actually rely on right now as Russian journalists is citizen journalism. There are a lot of, I would say, tens and hundreds of people who are brave enough, smart enough, strong enough to cooperate with people like myself. And they are sending footage and they are reporting to us anonymously. And this is the only way right now. One of the few ways left for journalists to work in Russia, about Russia, cover Russia.

FOSTER: Yes, it's a tough, tough call, isn't it? Ekaterina, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

KOTRIKADZE: Thank you.

FOSTER: Several Americans reunite with their families. At least two others have stayed behind, though. They include Ksenia Karelina, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen arrested earlier this year whilst visiting her grandparents. She's on trial in Russia for allegedly donating about $50 to a Ukrainian charity.

And teacher Marc Fogel, who's serving a 14-year sentence on drug charges for bringing cannabis to Russia. His family says the drug was recommended by a doctor to treat severe pain. Family members were hoping all along that Fogel would be included in the swap. But his sister told CNN earlier it took a phone call from a Russian prison to find out that he wasn't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE FOGEL, SISTER OF MARC FOGEL: We really hoped that they were going to get Marc on the plane. We knew that it was going to be happening very quickly. But Marc called me yesterday morning.

And when I realized that he was in Rybinsk, I knew that things were not going well, because he should have been gone. And it's been a roller coaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, a senior U.S. official says the White House tried to include Fogel in the swap, but it was unsuccessful. The official also said the administration will keep redoubling its efforts to get him out of prison.

Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed was released from captivity in Russia during another major prisoner exchange in 2022. Here he is addressing criticism of Thursday's swap earlier on CNN.

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TREVOR REED, U.S. MARINE FREED FROM RUSSIA IN 2022: I don't think anyone wants to see hardened criminals, you know, released from American prisons, especially if the victims of those crimes have been, you know, Americans or the United States in some way. But I think it's important to remember that the first priority of the United States should be to get American citizens home. And I think that the Biden administration has shown that they've made that a priority.

I think another priority that the United States needs to have is that it needs to impose costs on countries, on governments that force the United States into these situations. The argument that, oh, well, you shouldn't let these guys go to get Americans back is frankly pretty ridiculous. Every president that we have in the United States pardons dozens to hundreds of Americans who have been convicted in U.S. courts, and they release them without the United States receiving anything in exchange.

[04:15:05]

And to release a few Russian criminals to get innocent Americans home, I think, is absolutely worth it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Reed also has some advice for the newly freed Americans. He's urging them to take it slow as they readjust to civilian life.

Now, the news is being celebrated in the Olympic Village, where WNBA great and two-time gold medalist Brittany Griner told the Associated Press, she's, quote, head over heels happy for the families right now.

Any day that Americans come home, that's a win. That's a win.

Griner played professional basketball in Russia and was detained there for nearly a year after authorities found cannabis oil in her luggage.

She was released in December 2022 in a prisoner swap involving convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. We have another update for you as well. The plane carrying the three

Americans released from Russian prisons has arrived in San Antonio in Texas. There it is. Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and also Alsu Kurmasheva will be getting medical exams after returning to the U.S. late on Thursday. They're accompanied by some of the family members that met them when they arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland just a few hours ago.

The U.S., Russia, five other countries pulled off the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, as we were saying. And President Biden calls it a testament to alliances and diplomacy. We'll follow the movements as they happen there in Texas for you.

Ahead, a key militant leader assassinated and the threats of retaliation against Israel. We'll have the latest on the turmoil in the Middle East. That includes details on the funeral ceremony for Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas. Those stories and much more straight ahead.

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FOSTER: President Joe Biden says he is very concerned about the growing turmoil in the Middle East and is weighing whether to bolster U.S. defenses in the region. The high profile killings of several powerful militant leaders have led to vows of retaliation from Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. The Israeli military says it's on high alert and ready for a range of scenarios.

On Thursday, Israel claims responsibility for the assassination of one of the reported masterminds of the October 7 terror attacks, Hamas military chief Mohamed Deif. The Israeli military says he was killed in a strike carried out in southern Gaza last month, but they weren't sure about that until this week when they received new intelligence on his death.

Now, in just a few hours, a funeral procession will begin for the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who will be buried in Doha two days after he was assassinated in Iran. Hamas is calling for prayers and a day of anger over his killing.

CNN's Ivan Watson standing by for us in Beirut. First, though, we're going to speak to Salma, who's here in London.

And in terms of the, you know, turmoil, it ups again today because there's been another assassination, if I can call it that?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is yet another killing that Israel has claimed this time. It says it has killed a senior military figure in Islamic Jihad. This is the second most important militia group, of course, second to Hamas in Gaza, that it has killed a man who is in charge of their weapons, basically. So this is yet another assassination.

So just in the last few days, we have seen Israel claim responsibility for a Hezbollah assassination, a senior Hezbollah figure. They have not claimed responsibility for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, but that has happened as well in Iran and now Islamic Jihad as well.

It begins to really beg that question. How many fronts, how many groups, how many different sides and angles is Israel going to aggravate with these assassinations? And what will be the response?

And how do you calm this down? How do you bring down the temperature? There was a ceasefire deal on the table that is very much in question now with assassinations.

President Biden and the U.S., of course, leading this effort. President Biden was on the phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu again yesterday, asking him, appealing to him to take that deal. Take a listen to what he told reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I had a very direct meeting with the Prime Minister today. And we have the basis for a ceasefire. He should move on it and they should move on it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: He should move on it and he should move on it now, just clarifying that because of the sound. He should move on it now in regards to that ceasefire deal. I think I also want to point out, Max, that the pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing is not just from these militia groups, is just is not just the fear of this wider conflict. It is at home.

There were demonstrations yesterday in Tel Aviv, people demanding that those hostages be brought home. And there is serious anger back at home domestically for Netanyahu, not taking that deal and not bringing those hostages home. He is increasingly under pressure as the temperature in this region continues to ramp up.

FOSTER: And Ivan, we have Haniyeh's funeral today and calls for a day of anger. So tensions only increasing.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, Ismail Haniyeh's body was flown from Tehran, where he'd been assassinated this week, to Doha, to the capital of Qatar, where he's been based for years now. And we've seen images of his widow weeping over his coffin.

His funeral is expected to be held at the National Mosque in Doha. That's the Abdul Wahhab Mosque. And I think that highlights how important a figure he was considered to be by the government in Qatar, which was also a key mediator in those now floundering or perhaps moribund ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel.

[04:25:00]

And it was none less than the Qatari prime minister who issued a statement after Haniyeh's assassination. And I'm paraphrasing, but it was basically, what's the point of

mediation if you assassinate the man on the other side of the negotiating table?

So not exactly a resounding endorsement for hopes for any kind of negotiated solution to this awful war that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives in Gaza and threatens to erupt further.

Here in Lebanon, we've seen that after two days of relative silence on the border between Hezbollah militants and the Israeli military, that overnight Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at Israel.

The Israeli military says that only five of those got through, and they haven't reported any casualties or damage from that. Meanwhile, the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, he gave a long speech at the funeral of Fuad Shukr. That's the senior Hezbollah official that Israel did claim responsibility for assassinating in an evening airstrike on the outskirts of Beirut on Tuesday.

And Nasrallah said that Israel had crossed so many red lines with the assassination in Tehran, which Israel has not claimed responsibility for, and for the attack here in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and that there will absolutely be a response. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HASSAN NASRALLAH, HEZBOLLAH LEADER (through translator): We are not saying we are reserving the right to respond. We will respond. This is definite.

The enemy and those behind our enemy should wait for our definite response. There is no discussion or debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: So, you know, there are real concerns that this could blow up. We're hearing about airlines like Delta and United reportedly canceling their flights to Tel Aviv, some cancellations, Lufthansa not flying here to Beirut. There was a fireworks display at a concert over my shoulder last night that really freaked a lot of people out here in Beirut who didn't know quite what was going to happen.

Now, there's a final concern here. Both the Iranian government and Hezbollah are vowing a retaliation against Israel. But there is one real fact here to consider. They clearly have been compromised intelligence-wise. For Ismail Haniyeh to have been murdered -- assassinated in a heavily guarded compound controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran, for Fuad Shukr to have been killed here in Beirut indicates that Israel had real intelligence to find these men and kill them where they were in very close together. Again, Israel has not claimed responsibility for the Tehran killing.

And those are security considerations that the Iranian government and Hezbollah have to take into account while trying to plot, as they've declared, some kind of revenge against Israel -- Max. FOSTER: OK, Ivan Watson, thank you so much. Also to you, Salma, as well. We'll be following the funeral and, you know, what might happen afterwards. There's a lot of concern about that.

But right now, I want to go back to San Antonio, Texas. Three Americans released from Russian prisons are stepping off the plane.

It's just arrived in Washington. There we have Evan Gershkovich. So they are expected to go for medical checks, perhaps speak to the military as well.

But really, the priority right now is to re-acclimatize, get used to normal life again. And there's going to be a huge adjustment. They are accompanied by some of the family members as well that met them when they arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, which was just a few hours ago. We brought that to you live as well.

The U.S., Russia, five other countries pulled off the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, a hugely complicated diplomatic mission there, very much spearheaded by the United States, of course, but bringing in various other countries like Slovenia and Germany, for example.

So this is a, you know, a happy moment in a pretty grim news cycle right now, where we see people who were wrongfully detained, according to the U.S. State Department, finally back home.

It does raise the question of at what cost. We saw a convicted assassin released from a German prison. Leaves a pretty bad taste, but all the experts really saying they didn't have much choice but to return them to Russia to clear them in order to allow for this moment here.

So the families have been reunited. This is really about the processing stage. Perhaps they'll spend a couple of weeks in Texas.

That's what we've seen before with Griner, for example. And then really sort of there's Paul Whelan there, the former Marine, embracing someone there. And then they go through this process of trying to acclimatize back to life to be checked for medical conditions.

[04:30:00]

But also, I'm sure they may be some conversations with, it's a military base, so perhaps the military will want to get, glean what information they can as well from these three former prisoners in Russian prisons to see what else they can find.

You've got to remember there are still Americans in American prisons, so a bit of a bitter, sweet moment here, but a huge moment in diplomacy, Western diplomacy, working with Russia to see this moment.

Now, will this prison swap lead to warmer relations between Washington and Moscow?

That's more -- we'll have more on that after the break.