A former U.S. State Department analyst on Thursday joined "Mornings On 1" to provide real-time analysis amid reports that the U.S. had secured a prisoner swap with Russia to free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan.

Aaron David Miller, a current senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, described the development as "extraordinary news" but cautioned against reading too much into its potential impact on U.S.-Russia relations.

"It's great news for the families — it would be terrific if this really reflected a change in Russian policy with respect to Ukraine and relations with the United States, but it doesn't," Miller said. "Russia is going to continue to create enormous problems for the United States, not just in Ukraine, but in terms of disinformation, meddling in our elections and any number of black ops that Mr. Putin and Russian intelligence are deploying."

As a former negotiator in both Republican and Democratic administrations, Miller provided some insight into the negotiation process, noting it likely took several months to reach a conclusion on both sides.

"This is the largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War, and the fact that you had a Washington journalist — not only unjustly imprisoned but tried and sentenced to 16 years — reflects the state of play I think in the overall broader U.S. restaurant relationship, which is extremely problematic as we move forward," he said.

Reflecting on President Joe Biden's involvement in the prisoner swap, Miller noted he knows the president to be very hands on and expects he will greet them upon their return to U.S. soil.

"The Biden administration has made the return of Americans a top priority, and I know the president is intimately and personally involved in security such as exchanges and returning Americans home where they belong," he said.

Gershkovich was imprisoned in Russia for nearly two years on alleged spying charges. Whelan was also accused of spying and has been in Russian captivity since 2018.

Officials said other Americans are expected to be involved in the swap.