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By Jordan King
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Joe Biden had a single-word message for Vladimir Putin after the largest prisoner swap of its kind since the Cold War took place on Thursday.
An MSNBC clip shows reporters asking Biden at Joint Base Andrews: "What is your message tonight to Vladimir Putin?" Biden responds simply: "Stop."
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The U.S. and some of its allies agreed to exchange eight Russian detainees in return for the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the former US Marine Paul Whelan and the Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, along with a number of Russian dissidents held in Russian prisons.
In return, Russia welcomed back intelligence agent and assassin Vadim Krasikov, sleeper agent couple Artem and Anna Dultsev, journalist Pavel Rubtsov (who was accused of spying), hacker Roman Seleznev, bussinessman Vladislav Klyushin, alleged spy Mikhail Mikushin, alleged smuggler Vadim Konoshchenok and alleged money launderer Alexander Vinnik.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were seen greeting and hugging the three American citizens who were freed on Thursday.
A video of the event was streamed to Biden's account on X, showing Whelan exiting the plane first.
Biden told a group of reporters: "My job is to make sure ... we get them back. I don't buy this idea you're going to let these people rot in jail."
Harris added: "This is an extraordinary day. I'm very grateful for our president ... This is just an extraordinary testament to the power of having a president who understands diplomacy ... This is an incredible day and I can see it in the families, in their eyes."
Biden reportedly finalized the details of this swap on July 21, just an hour before he publicly announced that was withdrawing from this year's race, according to White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt.
The family of an American, Marc Fogel, who was not among those released spoke out against Russians getting released, but not him.
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They said in a statement given to The New York Times: "It is inconceivable to us that Russian dissidents would be prioritized over U.S. citizens in a prisoner exchange.
"Marc has been unjustly detained for far too long and must be prioritized in any swap negotiations with Russia, regardless of his level of notoriety or celebrity."
Fogel, from Pittsburgh, taught at the Anglo-American School of Moscow for 27 years before he was arrested for marijuana possession in August 2021 and sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison.
Newsweek has contacted Biden's representatives via email for comment.
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