The American School Teacher held in Russia since 2021 released, the White House says | Us news

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Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania school teacher who has been held in Russia since 2021, has been released after a visit to Moscow by the US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, said Tuesday.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff leaves the Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia, ”Waltz said in a statement.

Fogel, 63, was convicted of smuggling by 17 grams of marijuana to Russia in 2021 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The native in the Pittsburgh area had worked as a teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow since 2012 and taught abroad in countries such as Oman and Malaysia.

In his statement, Waltz said that the United States and Russia “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.”

He did not say what the American side of the negotiation entailed. Previous negotiations have occasionally involved mutual releases of prisoners and prisoners.

Family members of Marc Fogel Rally outside the White House for his release on July 15, 2023 in Washington DC. Photography: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

Trump has said he has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but has been vague with details other than saying he wants to secure a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022.

In an interview with Fox News released on Monday, Trump suggested that Ukraine “may be Russian one day,” as his vice president JD Vance Gears up to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later this week.

In a statement, Fogel’s family 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.”

Fogel is expected to arrive in the United States later on Tuesday.

More details soon …