Rubio says Trump intends to return all Americans convicted in Russian Federation to the U.S.

U.S. State Department head Marco Rubio said on February 11 that President Donald Trump intends to return all American citizens convicted in Russia.

"The release of Mark [Vogel] is also a reminder that other American citizens are still imprisoned in Russia. President Trump is committed to bringing them all home," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, Michael Waltz, the U.S. president's national security adviser, said American Mark Vogel, convicted in Russian Federation for drug smuggling and possession, had been released from detention. He said Trump and his advisers "agreed on an exchange that will serve as a demonstration of goodwill on the Russian side."

Later, lawyer Dmitry Ovsyannikov told Izvestia that Fogel had been released and handed over to the US side. According to him, there is no official confirmation that this is an exchange at the moment.

In turn, Trump said that Russia had treated the US "very well" by returning Fogel. The US President admitted that the release of Fogel will be the beginning of relations that will allow to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

Mark Fogel, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2022, was detained with his wife in August 2021 at Sheremetyevo airport. Hashish oil and marijuana were found in their luggage. During the search it turned out that Vogel's wife, who was released home before the arrival of representatives of law enforcement agencies, had managed to get rid of the evidence in the apartment.

Vogel worked as a teacher at an Anglo-American school in Moscow. He is also a former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Russia. Until May 2021, he and his wife had diplomatic status. The investigation revealed that the American could use his official position to create a drug supply channel to the territory of the Russian Federation in order to sell these illegal substances to schoolchildren.