Marc Fogel: Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, secures freedom for US teacher from Russians

Marc Fogel, a US teacher detained in Russia, has been released according to the White House.

Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for US President Donald Trump, left Russian airspace with Fogel, who is from the state of Pennsylvania, and he is expected to be reunited with his family by the end of the day.

Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug smuggling after he was detained in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in August 2021 with 17 grams of marijuana - which he said he uses for medical reasons - in his luggage.

Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, said the US and Russia “negotiated an exchange” to ensure Fogel’s release.

He did not say what the US side of the bargain entailed.

Previous negotiations have occasionally involved reciprocal releases of Russians by the US or its allies.

Waltz described the development as “a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine”.

Trump has promised to find a way to end the conflict.

The US president has indicated he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin but has been vague on the details other than to say he is insistent on ending the three-year-old Ukraine war.

Russia’s aviation regulator earlier on Tuesday issued a statement in response to what it said were media questions and reports after flight tracking services showed a private jet landing in Moscow from the United States.

The regulator said it was a one-off technical flight from Washington DC to Moscow related to “humanitarian co-operation” of a medical nature.

It did not disclose details of the flight or the identities of those on board.

with Reuters.