Trump welcomed American Fogel, convicted in Russian Federation, to the White House

US President Donald Trump has welcomed American Mark Vogel, convicted in Russia for drug smuggling and possession, to the White House.

"President Trump welcomes Mark Vogel and welcomes him back to the United States," the White House press office said in a post on social network X (former Twitter).

During the meeting, the American leader thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I'm very grateful for what he did ... We appreciate it," he said.

Trump called the agreement reached between the countries on the release "very fair and reasonable."

Fogel was also greeted at the White House by House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

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Fogel's release from detention became known on February 11. According to U.S. Presidential National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Trump and his advisers "agreed to an exchange that will serve as a demonstration of good faith on the Russian side."

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

Trump, in turn, noted that Russia had treated the US "very well" by returning Fogel. The US President admitted that this will be the beginning of a relationship that will allow to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

US State Department head Marco Rubio called Fogel's release a reminder of the need to release other US citizens imprisoned in Russia. According to him, Trump intends to return them all to the States.

Mark Fogel was detained with his wife in August 2021 at Sheremetyevo airport. In their luggage was found hashish oil and marijuana. 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. The man was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2022.

Fogel worked as a teacher at an Anglo-American school in Moscow. He is also a former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Russia. He and his wife had diplomatic status until May 2021. 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.