President Joe Biden said it "feels wonderful" to welcome three freed Americans to U.S. soil following a historic prisoner exchange with Russia, and he gave special credit to the cooperation of nations including Germany and Slovenia for helping to make the global prisoner swap work, saying they agreed to difficult things that were "against their self-interests." Speaking on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base, Biden rejected the idea that such swaps could lead to other Americans being detained, saying, "I don't buy this idea of ... let these people rot in jail because other people may be captured." Vice President Kamala Harris called the deal an "extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy." The US-Russia prisoner swap Thursday was the biggest in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free.