White House says US President Trump and special envoy Witkoff ‘negotiated an exchange’.
Russia has released Marc Fogel, an American teacher that Washington deemed to be wrongfully detained, after three and a half years in prison, the White House has announced.
Fogel, 63, had been detained in Russia since August 2021 after being handed a 14-year prison sentence for possession of about 17 grams (0.4 oz) of medical marijuana.
Fogel’s release was secured after United States President Donald Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff “negotiated an exchange”, Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Waltz did not specify the nature of the exchange, which he described as “a show of good faith from the Russians” and “a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine”.
“By tonight, Marc Fogel will be on American soil and reunited with his family and loved ones thanks to President Trump’s leadership,” Waltz said.
In a statement, the Fogel family said they were “beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed”.
Asked later on Tuesday whether the US had given up anything for Fogel’s release, Trump said “not much”, without elaborating.
“We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war [in Ukraine] and millions of people can stop being killed.”
During his election campaign, Trump claimed he would be able to end Russia’s war on Ukraine in “24 hours”.
With the conflict approaching the four-year mark, Trump’s plans for ending the war are still unclear, though he has suggested that Kyiv will have to surrender at least some of its territory to Russia.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on Fogel’s release.
Washington has negotiated the release of Americans in exchange for Russians in the past, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was freed from Russian custody in August, along with two other US citizens.