Trump criticises Biden's decision on Gershkovich and Whelan exchange, calls it 'win for Putin'

Former United States President Donald Trump took a shot at his successor, Joe Biden followingthe recent prisoner swap with Moscow,which secured the release of American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan from Russian custody. Trump called themassive prisoner exchangea victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

'A win for Putin': Trump

In an interview with FoxBusiness Network, taped onThursday and broadcast on Friday (Aug 2), Trump said, "Well as usual, it was a win for Putin or any other country that deals with us. But we got somebody back, so I’m never going to be challenging that."

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He added, "This deal that was made today, I think it’s wonderful that Evan’s coming back. I think it’s great. But these deals are so bad. These deals are going to lead to tremendous kidnappings."

Even though the prisoner swap is being celebrated as the biggest multi-country exchange since the Cold War, Trump has blamed Biden for mishandling the high-stakes compromise and failing to bring Americans home.

Trump calls for additional info about the exchange

Earlier, theformer president also called for additional information about the prisoner exchange and highlighted what he sees as failures in the current administration's diplomatic strategy.

Following the release of Gershkovich and Whelan, White House officials clarified that the deal did not involve any cash exchange. However, this statement did not satisfy the GOP presidential candidate, who took to Truth Social to confront the disagreement with unfounded claims.

"So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because I’m sure the answer is NO)? Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps. Our “negotiators” are always an embarrassment to us! I got back many hostages, and gave the opposing Country NOTHING – and never any cash. To do so is bad precedent for the future. That’s the way it should be, or this situation will get worse and worse. They are extorting the United States of America. They’re calling the trade “complex” – That’s so nobody can figure out how bad it is!,” Trump wrote.

Gershkovich and Whelan wereamong 24 prisoners from the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Russia, and Belarusreleased as part of a prisoner exchange managed by Turkish intelligence.

Joe Biden retorts

The reporters briefly questioned Biden about Trump's claim regarding cash flow, and the proposal that he could have secured the prisoners' release from Russia without making concessions.

In response, Biden takinga jibe at Trumpsaid, “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?”

It may be mentioned here, that Whelan's brother, David, had earlier criticised Trump for ignoring Paul's case and only addressing it after it gained media limelight.

(With inputs from agencies)