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 February 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.
