Slovenia took part in one of the largest exchanges of prisoners since the end of the Cold War on 1 August, handing over two Russian spies who pleaded guilty and were convicted the day before, several media have reported.

Ten Russians, including two minors, who are believed to be the children of the spies jailed in Slovenia, were handed over in exchange for 16 Western prisoners detained by Russia, the Turkish presidency said in a statement as it welcomed the historic exchange of prisoners organised by Turkey's intelligence service MIT.

Slovenia handed over Russian spies Artem Viktorovich Dultsev and Anna Valerevna Dultseva, who were arrested in Slovenia on spying charges in December 2022. They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to one year and seven months in prison each.

The news portal 24.ur reported that their pleading guilty was not accidental but coordinated as part of the prisoner exchange.

The report said the trial had not been supposed to end before autumn. But although the couple had been categorically denying the allegations against them since their arrest, they changed their story on 31 July, which the portal's sources say they did on orders of the Russian embassy in Slovenia.

The portal also learned that the pair had been building a Russian spy network in Slovenia for more than ten years, their cover-up allegedly costing several million euros. They allegedly tried to undermine public support for NATO.

According to unofficial information obtained by 24.ur, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob discussed the prisoner exchange with US President Joe Biden in a telephone call on 28 July. The Government Communication Office said it could neither confirm nor deny the information, which the portal says is "spy speak" for confirmation.

Biden today thanked the allies, including Slovenia, for the prisoner swap. "I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome- including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey," Biden wrote on X.

Vojko Volk, a state secretary in the prime minister's office, later confirmed Slovenia's participation in the prisoner swap. He said the role Slovenia played in the exchange affirmed its trustworthiness.

Part of the exchange, which was reportedly executed through Kaliningrad and Ankara, were Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, former American marine Paul Whelan, Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin and Russian intel operative Vadim Krasikov, among others.