Russia releases Marc Fogel after conversations with Trump -Release

President Trump on Tuesday secured the release of a US jailed in Russia as part of an agreement with the Kremlin, which was negotiated by Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

Marc Fogel, a teacher arrested on charges of bringing medical marijuana into Russia in August 2021, was released by the Kremlin and flown out of the country on Mr. Witkoff’s aircraft. Although he began to serve a 14-year judgment in June 2022, Mr. Fogel only classified as unlawfully detained by the Biden administration at the end of the year.

Mr. Witkoff, a billionaire New York Real Estate Executive and close friend of Trumps, had secretly negotiated the deal, although his presence in Moscow became evident as he flew there on his private jet and warned online airmen. It was the first known journey to Moscow by a senior American official since William J. Burns, then the CIA director, flew to the Russian capital in November 2021 to try to avert an invasion of Ukraine.

Mike Waltz, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, said in a statement that Mr. Witkoff in the direction of the president had brought Mr. Fogel out of Russia on his aircraft as part of an exchange. But he gave no details of whether the United States or Ally had released someone in return, or what other steps the administration had taken to win Mr. Fogel’s release.

“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the president’s advisers negotiated an exchange that serves as a show with good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” said Mr. Waltz.

It is unclear who Mr. Witkoff met with, and about other questions, including Ukraine, were part of any discussions. Officers of the White House refused to comment on these questions. Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, did not respond to a request for comment. He told journalists earlier in the day that he did not have “no information” about the reported arrival of Mr. Witkoff’s aircraft.

But the agreement is in discussion for several days a gesture of good will for both sides aimed at smoothing the way to conversations about the war in Ukraine and potentially improving the relationship between Russia and the United States.

It underlined President Vladimir V. Putin’s efforts to build warm ties with the new administration after the Russian leader repeatedly praised Mr. Trump in the weeks ago his dedication. And it highlights the bond where President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is when Mr. Trump builds a channel for Moscow while expressing deep skepticism about Kyiv.

In a statement, the Fogel family thanked Mr. Trump for having secured his release.

“We are very grateful, relieved and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband and son, Marc Fogel, finally come home,” the statement from Mr. Fogel’s wife, Jane Fogel, and Sons, Ethan and Sam.

Mr. Witkoff’s role extends beyond only one mission to release a detained American, according to several people informed of the situation that spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive events. Mr. Trump has a history of assigning more people to performing a unambiguous goal. And while Mr. Trump has appointed Keith Kellogg, a retired three-star general, as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, he has also awarded Mr. Witkoff a role in the peace process.

Weeks ago, Mr. Trump secretly Mr. Witkoff to expand his portfolio beyond the Middle East for the purpose of opening a negotiating channel with the Russians, these people said. Mr. Trump trusts Mr. Witkoff, with whom he has been friends with since the 1980s, on a personal level and has told people close to him that he believes that real estate develops Ukraine.

But the exact lines of authority in the administration on the issue remain unclear.

Mr. Witkoff had direct discussions with close allies by Mr. Putin before the visit to Moscow, the people said of the situation. He has also discussed Ukraine with contacts in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, they said. Countries in the Persian Gulf have long tried to play a role as brokers to end the conflict.

It is unclear if Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin has spoken – none of the pages will say – but more senior Trump administration officials who would normally pay attention to such a call said they couldn’t confirm that it had happened.

Mr. Trump had promised during his presidential campaign to end Russia-Ukraine War “In 24 Hours.” But Mr. Putin, who has shown a willingness to try to surpass the West’s backing of Ukraine, has not been in a hurry to admit. And while Mr. Trump has signaled that he plans to use sanctions or other tools to push Mr. Putin financially to force him to negotiate, it is unclear how much longer Ukraine should expect to receive deliveries of significant weapons from the United States.

Mr. Trump has said he wants Ukraine to give hundreds of billions of dollars value of rare earthen soil minerals as a refund for US security assistance since the start of the war. He announced on Tuesday that he was sending Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to meet with Mr. Zelensky.

“This war must and end soon,” Trump wrote on his social media site, truth social. “Too much death and destruction. The United States has spent billions of dollars globally with a little to show. “

Mr. Bessent was instructed to explore with Ukrainians how an agreement for the rare earth soil minerals had to look, according to several people who were informed about the plans.

Mr. Zelensky told Reuters in an interview That he was open to an agreement to give the United States access to rare ground minerals in exchange for a security guarantee.

Mr. Trump has continued to express skepticism about Mr. Zelensky, which he believes has benefited from American generosity. Mr. Trump has also been reluctant to entertain any kind of US security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any solution.

The president’s comments in his Super Bowl interview with Fox News about Ukraine’s future have again cast doubt on his vision for the end of the war as well as his support for the country’s sovereignty.

“They can enter into an agreement, they cannot enter into an agreement,” said Mr. Trump about Ukraine. “They can be Russian one day, or they may not be Russian one day.”

Mr. Trump seemed to mouse high in the interview sent Monday, but any questions that the US president vocalizes about the future of an independent Ukraine is deeply disturbing to Kiev officials.

Mr. Putin and many Russians see Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, as a legal part of Russia and questioned its independence even before the war. On the other hand, Ukrainian nationalism has hardened since the Russian invasion three years ago and the staggering losses since then.

Representatives of the Trump administration are expected to discuss their plans to end the war in Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference this weekend. Mr. Kellogg, Russia-Ukraine-release, is ready to attend the conference with State Secretary Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

Mr. Vance is scheduled to meet with Mr. Zelensky in Munich. This meeting could set the scene for a meeting in Washington between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky. Mr. Trump has said he would soon meet with the Ukrainian leader, and he is also expected to talk to Mr. Putin.

Allies of Mr. Fogel had argued for the Russian authorities that they should release him as part of the gesture of the new Trump administration.

Mr. Fogel’s 95-year-old mother, Malphine Fogel, is a resident of Butler, Pa., And a supporter of Mr. Trumps. She was present at Rally in Butler in July, when an attempt at Assassin shot Mr. Trump in the ear. Mrs. Fogel had met with him before the rally And was set to join him on stage, a plan that was taken up by the attack.

Allies of Mr. Fogel’s had hoped he would be included in the big prison change in August, releasing Paul Whelan, a former marine, and Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter. But the Biden -Administration did not push for Mr. Fogel had to be included because Mr. At that time, Fogel had not been classified as unlawfully detained because of the amount of marijuana he led into Russia.

Mr. Fogel’s legal team said his release was “long too late.”

“After years of bureaucratic inaction including consistent refusal to appoint Marc as unlawfully withheld, President Trump Marc’s release in just a few weeks, and did not wasting time taking decisive actions to bring Marc home,” Martin de Luca and Andrew Smith secured , Mr. Fogel’s lawyers said in a statement.

For Mr. Putin is the decision to release Mr. Fogel a shift from his much less welcoming attitude during the Biden administration. When former Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked Mr. Putin in an interview in February last them. ”

Ivan Nechepurenko contributed with reporting.