Kremlin reveals details of American Fogel's release in Russia

The diplomatic departments of Russia and the United States have maintained contacts, which resulted in the release of American Mark Fogel, who was convicted in Russia for drug smuggling and possession. This was announced by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on February 12.

"The work was intensified along the lines of the relevant agencies, there were contacts and the result <...> was the release of Fogel," he said at a briefing.

Peskov specified that in exchange, a Russian citizen was released from a place of imprisonment in the United States. He specified that the Russian will return to the country the other day.

Commenting on the possibility of negotiations on the release and exchange of American and Russian citizens, the press-secretary of the Russian president noted that these are steps to build up trust, which is at a low point. However, Peskov clarified that such agreements "are unlikely to be able to become a turning point."

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Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump met Vogel at the White House. During the meeting, he thanked Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The release of Fogel from detention became known the day before. According to the US President's National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, 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 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.