Russia releases the jailed American teacher Marc Fogel

Washington (AP) – Marc Fogel, an American History Teacher who was considered unjustly detained by Russiahas been released and returned to the United States in what the White House described as a diplomatic thaw that could promote the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin said Wednesday that a Russian citizen was released in the US in exchange for Moscow Release of American Marc FogelBut it refused to identify him until he arrives in Russia “in the coming days.”

Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for President Donald Trump, left Russia with Fogel and brought him to the White House late Tuesday, and Trump welcomed him home.

“I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now,” Fogel said as he stood next to Trump with an American flag killed around his shoulders.

Fogel, who is from Pennsylvania, has spoken to his wife, his two children and his 95-year-old mother, Witkoff said in the White House on Wednesday. He refused to reveal Fogel’s whereabouts.

Fogel was also shown the famous Lincoln bedroom, a room on the second floor of the White House, once used as an office by President Abraham Lincoln. A handwritten copy of the Gettysburg address, signed by Lincoln, appears on a desk in a corner of the room.

Trump said that another American, someone “very special”, would be released Wednesday, though he refused to name the person or say from which country.

The president refused to say if he was talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Fogel, but Fogel praised the Russian leader as “very generous and statesman in giving me a pardon.”

When asked about the conditions of the agreement, Trump said: “Very fair, very, very fair, very reasonable. Not like the offers you’ve seen over the years. They were very righteous. “

He did not say what the United States exchanged with Fogel’s release.

Witkoff on Wednesday gave some of the honor to Mohammed bin Salman and said that Saudi -Arabia’s Crown Prince was “instrumental” in the negotiations.

“He has a very strong friendship with President Trump, and behind the scenes he encouraged and pushed and looked for the right result. It was useful, it really was, ”Witkoff said.

When asked about the Crown Prince, the Russians pushed, Witkoff said he was more of a “cheerleader.”

“He was a cheerleader for this approximation where the two leaders would come together, and that’s what happened, so thank God,” Witkoff said. “Sometimes you don’t get a good result. Here we got a very good result. Mark Fogel is the proof of it. “

Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and served a 14-year-old prison sentence. His family and supporters said he had traveled with medically ordained marijuana, and he was appointed by President Joe Bid’s administration as wrongfully detained in December.

Michael Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, said the United States and Russia “negotiated an exchange” to ensure Fogel’s release. He did not say what the American side of the negotiation entailed. Previous negotiations have occasionally involved mutual releases of Russians of the United States or its allies.

Waltz said the development was “a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.” Trump, a Republican, has promised to find a way to quit the conflict.

Trump has also talked about having a good relationship with Putin launched An invasion at full scale of Ukraine By 2022. Last month, Trump said his administration had “very serious” conversations with Russia about the war.

Trump said with journalists in the White House earlier Tuesday, “We were actually treated very nicely by Russia. I hope this is the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war. “

When asked whether the United States had given up anything in return, Trump answered “not much” but did not elaborate.

Fogel’s relatives said they were “beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed” that he was coming home.

“This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today we start to heal,” they said. “For the first time this year, our family can look forward to the future with hope.”

USA, Russia and other nations completed a large Catcher swap In August, this resulted in the release of the Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich and US corporate security director Paul Whelan, among others.

But this agreement omitted several other Americans who were imprisoned in Russia, including Fogel. Some omitted then were also not included in Tuesday’s release, including several who have had large milestones in their cases since then.

Among them is US-Russian double national Ksenia Khavanathat was convicted of Treason in a Russian court Shortly after last August’s prisoners swap and were sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges derived from a donation of about $ 52 to a charity helping Ukraine. John Kirby, a spokesman for national security in Biden White House at the time, called conviction and conviction “nothing less than just cruelty.”

Last October, US Robert Gilman was sentenced to more than seven years in prison in Russia for allegedly assault of law enforcement authorities while putting a sentence for another assault, while American Stephen Hubbard was sentenced to jail in a closed lawsuit for allegedly match as a mercenary in Ukraine.

As the Russia-Ukraine war approaches the end of its third year, Trump’s plan remains to ensure an end to the conflict unclear, though he has said both sides will have to admit at least some territory.

Fogel’s release and Trump’s announcement that he will send Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent For Kyiv for conversations with Ukraine’s leaders could signal that the plans can start taking shape.

Vice President JD Vance, State Secretary Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, retired General Keith Kellogg, all later this week will participate in the Munich Security Conference, where the situation in Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion.

Kellogg told Associated Press on Monday that he and the others would talk to European officials about the very broad contours of what Trump would like to see and measure their interest.

“We will deliver our expectation to the Allies,” Kellogg said. “When we come back from Munich – we want to deliver to the president, so when he gets (directly) involved in the peace process, he knows what it will look like for him.”

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Associated Press Author Josh Boak, Michelle L. Price, Darlene Superville and AP Diplomatic Author Matthew Lee contributed to this report.