WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden expressed his gratitude to Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob on Tuesday for his pivotal involvement in the recent prisoner exchange involving seven nations, which successfully released Americans Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Paul Whelan from Russian incarceration.
This agreement, finalized in August, marks the most significant U.S.-Russian prisoner swap since the end of the Soviet Union, encompassing a total of 24 individuals and necessitating extensive discussions and concessions from various European nations—Slovenia among them—to facilitate the release of Russians held elsewhere as part of this arrangement.
At the start of their meeting in the Oval Office, Biden highlighted Golob’s contributions by stating, “I want to thank you for your diplomacy and for your support and your leadership. You made it possible. That’s not hyperbole. You made it possible.”
Slovenia agreed to release two Russian operatives, Artem Viktorovich Dultsev and Anna Valerevna Dultseva, who had been living in Slovenia under the guise of being Argentines running a startup IT firm and an online art gallery. The couple, who had two children, reportedly utilized their time in Ljubljana to navigate to neighboring NATO and EU countries, transmit instructions from Moscow, and deliver funds to other Russian sleeper agents. They were apprehended in 2022.
Golob is only the third prime minister of Slovenia to receive a formal invitation for a meeting with a U.S. president at the White House. The last Slovenian leader to meet a sitting U.S. president was Janez Jansa, who was hosted by George W. Bush in 2006. Prime Minister Borut Pahor also had a visit in February 2011 to meet then-Vice President Biden, which included a brief appearance by President Barack Obama.
Evan Gershkovich, who worked for the Wall Street Journal, had been incarcerated in Russia for 16 months. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was taken into custody last year, alongside Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018.
All three were found guilty in a manner that the White House has decried as baseless espionage charges for Gershkovich and Whelan, while Kurmasheva faced accusations of disseminating false information.
Biden made it clear during the meeting that the importance of alliances should not be underestimated, stating, “We made it clear to anyone who questions whether our allies matter.”
Their discussion also revolved around significant global issues, including the ongoing situation in Ukraine, energy security, and the shared objectives concerning the Western Balkans.
Additionally, Golob has been notably vocal in criticizing Israel’s approach to the conflict in Gaza. During his recent speech at the United Nations, he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease the violence, emphatically stating, “Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war now.”
This meeting with Golob followed Biden’s visit to Berlin last week, which was partly to express gratitude to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his nation’s role in the prisoner exchange.
During that exchange, Scholz consented to the release of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian national who had been sentenced for the 2019 murder of a Georgian citizen and subsequently sought asylum in Germany.