Watch: Biden speaks after Evan Gershkovich freed in largest prisoner exchange with Russia since Cold War

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Watch as Joe Biden speaks after the United States and four allies reached a deal with Russia for their largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War, in a swap that includes the release US journalist Evan Gershkovich.

Mr Gershkovich, the jailed Wall Street Journal reporter, and ex-US Marine Paul Whelan were among 26 prisoners from the US, Russia and a number of their allies being freed in a major exchange on Thursday 1 August.

The Biden administration negotiated the complex trade with Moscow and several other countries, agreeing to send eight prisoners held in the West back to Russia, including Vadim Krasikov, who had been serving a life sentence for killing a Chechen-Georgian dissident in Berlin.

Negotiated in secret for more than a year, the deal represents a major accomplishment for the parties and will be presented by the Biden administration as a marquee foreign policy success as the US presidential race enters its final months.

The exchange is the biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

In the last major exchange in 2010, 14 prisoners were exchanged.