Hello everyone it's four o'clock in New York I'm Ali Velshi in for Nicole Wallace, a feat of diplomacy and friendship.

That's how President Joe Biden today described the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

There was a massive effort resulting in four U.S. residents, Wall Street Journal reporter

Evan Gerskovic, Marine veteran Paul Whelan, the journalist Al-Sou Kuramacheva, and pro-Democracy

activist Vladimir Karamursa finally heading home.

Here's President Biden surrounded by the families of the detainees.

deals like this one come with tough calls and there's never any guarantees.

There's nothing that matters more to me

on protecting Americans at home and abroad.

And so we'll continue to work for the release of all wrongfully detained

Americans around the world. Now in total Russia is releasing 16 prisoners in

exchange. NBC News reports quote the US released three Russian prisoners including an intelligence

operative facing charges of smuggling US technology and ammunition to the Russian military.

Slovenia released two Russian prisoners.

Norway and Poland each released one.

A source tells NBC that the swap is the result of nearly two years of difficult

persistent diplomacy by the Biden administration after the

W.N. B. A star, Brittany Griner, was released in December of 2022.

Now the exact details of this deal only came together in the last two weeks with the president personally lobbying Germany

and other European allies to help.

For the released Americans and their families, today is undoubtedly a good day.

This video from Russian media claims to show the detainees

...