a few seconds agoBack in America, Russia's freed teacher
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)President Donald Trump waited late last night at the White House American teacher Marc Fogel after his release from Russia, where he had been arrested since August 2021 after being found in medical marijuana. I feel like the luckiest man in the world now”, Mr. Fogel said while standing beside President Trump. Mr. Fogel praised [...]
I feel like the luckiest man in the world now”, Mr. Fogel said while standing beside President Trump.
Mr. Fogel praised the American president, diplomats and lawmakers for working to secure his release.
“I'm impressed by what they all did, said Mr. Fogel.
President Trump said he appreciated Mr. Fogel's release from Russia, while giving no details about the deal leading to his release, beyond being named “very fair” and the highly reasonable “”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday that the United States was releasing a Russian citizen from an American prison as part of the deal and that identity would be made public once it arrived in Russia.
President Trump said the release of another hostage would be announced Wednesday.
Mike Waltz, the adviser to President Trump for National Security, said earlier Tuesday that the United States and Russia “launched an exchange” to release Mr. Fogel, but did not elaborate on what the American side had offered. In the past, the United States has freed Russian prisoners wanted by Moscow in exchange for American prisoners in Russia.
However, Mr. Waltz portrayed the release in other geopolitical terms, saying that “showed signs of trust from the Russians and a sign that it is moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine”. Russia launched a large - scale attack on Ukraine in 2022, with hundreds of thousands killed or injured on both sides.
Mr. Trump had vowed to end Russia's war against Ukraine before taking office on January 20th. Recently, American assistants and leaders have said that the president hopes to do so within the first 100 days of the new administration, about by the end of April.
Since his oath, President Trump has successfully secured the release of Americans arrested worldwide. It will continue working until all non-Americans are returned to the United States”, Mr. Waltz said.
To date, the release of six Americans imprisoned in Venezuela and Mr. Fogel's Russian release has been announced.
The American teacher carried with him a small amount of prescription medical marijuana to treat back pain when it was stopped by Russian police. In 2022 he was sentenced to 14 prison sentences, while President Biden's administration said late last year that Mr. Fogel was unjustly arrested. / VOA/
