Russian President Vladimir Putin has personally met with Russians released after a major prisoner exchange at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport.
Putin hugged at least one of the men on the platform where the presidential guard was standing guard, according to television footage released by the Kremlin.
The reception committee also included heads of the Russian secret service, Alexander Bortnikov of the FSB domestic service, and Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SWR foreign service, and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.
“You are home, you are home,” Putin greeted the freed men and announced that they would be nominated for state awards.
Tears of joy were visible on the faces of those who were released.
One of the freed men was a convicted murderer who killed a Chechen dissident in broad daylight in a park in central Berlin. He was released from German custody as part of the deal.
