Marc Fogel, an American citizen who had been held in jail in Russia since 2021, has reportedly been released from custody, according to officials from the United States.
Fogel was departing Russian airspace with President Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, according to a statement released by the White House on Tuesday.
The statement was issued by the Senior National Security Advisor for the United States, Mike Waltz.
The release of Fogel was hailed by the White House as a sign that relations with Russia are beginning to improve and that there may be progress made in negotiations to bring an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
At the Moscow airport in 2021, Fogel was taken into custody after Russian authorities discovered less than an ounce of medical marijuana in his luggage.
Fogel said that the marijuana had been prescribed to him for the treatment of back pain. In 2022, he was found guilty of narcotics trafficking charges and received a sentence of fourteen years in prison.
The Anglo-American School of Moscow was Fogel and his wife’s place of employment after they had traveled to Moscow. Fogel was a history teacher at the high school level.
Last year, Fogel was not included in a huge prisoner swap that resulted in the release of previously incarcerated individuals such as Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and Paul Whelan, a former member of the United States Marine Corps.
This exchange came about as a result of intricate talks that took place behind the scenes between the United States of America, Russia, and Germany.
Berlin agreed to Moscow’s primary demand, which was for the release of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin who had been convicted of murder.
Given that Russia had shown very little interest in any such exchanges, there was little optimism that a deal could be reached to free Fogel.
The extraordinary manner in which Trump negotiated with Russia is brought to light by the publication of Fogel. It appears that Trump avoided conventional diplomatic channels and instead relied on his personal envoy, Witkoff, during the handoff during the negotiations.
Despite the fact that flight trackers had discovered Witkoff’s private plane in Moscow, the Kremlin repeatedly denied having any knowledge of his presence in the city.
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