German Minister of Justice Buschmann advises against travel to Russia
I believe, however, that the exchange did not increase the risk, Buschmann continued. "Under Vladimir Putin, nearly 40 journalists have been killed. Countless have been arbitrarily imprisoned," said the FDP politician. "There was no security left in this country before this exchange."
Russia and its ally Belarus, on one side, and Germany, the US, and three other NATO states, on the other, carried out the prisoner exchange last Thursday. Russia released 15 detainees, including four with German passports.
The release of a German initially sentenced to death in Belarus, later pardoned, was also achieved. According to Russian reports, in exchange, eight Russian prisoners, including Vadim Krasikov, the so-called Tiergarten murderer imprisoned in Germany, and two minors, the children of two of those released, were flown to Russia. It was the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
Buschmann told "stern" that he had doubts until the end whether the Russian side would stick to the agreement. "Not even when the plane with the freed prisoners landed in Cologne/Bonn could we be sure," he said. After all, the FSB, Russia's secret service, regularly uses poison "to destroy the lives or health of people in the most perfidious way."
After landing in Germany, the freed prisoners were medically examined. "That was my personal big concern: that Russia had poisoned them before departure. But, according to what we know so far, fortunately, that is not the case," the FDP politician added.
Buschmann also said he does not see the prisoner exchange as a precedent. "No one, including Vladimir Putin, can cite our political decision here as a precedent," he said, rejecting criticism that Germany has made itself vulnerable to future similar situations by releasing the so-called Tiergarten murderer. "In this specific individual case, we believed that the benefits outweighed the considerable counterarguments. This does not create vulnerability."
The Federal Minister of Justice, Buschmann, expressed his doubt about Russia's commitment to the agreement until the freed prisoners landed in Germany. After the exchange, he emphasized that Russia's past use of poison against critics should not be a cause for concern.
