Harris Says She and Biden ‘Never Stopped’ Fighting for Release of Americans

Vice President Kamala Harris said that she and President Biden had “never stopped fighting” for the release of wrongfully detained Americans like the ones who were released from Russian custody on Thursday.

Ms. Harris, who made the remarks after a campaign swing through Houston and after stopping at the memorial of Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee of Texas, was seeking to establish her part in a monthslong negotiation that ultimately involved 24 prisoners from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Russia.

The Americans part of the swap included Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter; Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine arrested in 2018.

They had “shown incredible courage,” Ms. Harris said in brief remarks on the tarmac in Houston before flying back to Washington.

“Over many years, President Biden and I and our team have engaged in complex diplomatic negotiations to bring these wrongfully detained Americans home,” Ms. Harris said. “We never stopped fighting for their release. And today, in spite of all of their suffering, it gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is finally over.”

She added that she had spoken with Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in custody in February and whose release was under negotiation when he died. His death in February scrambled the negotiation, and the swap.