MOSCOW — On Wednesday, the Kremlin announced that a Russian national was released in the United States as part of an exchange for American citizen Marc Fogel’s freedom. However, officials have chosen to keep the identity of the Russian citizen undisclosed until he arrives back in Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed reporters that the unnamed individual is expected to return to Russia “in the coming days,” and his name will be disclosed only upon his arrival. This process differs from previous instances when both Russian and American detainees were released concurrently, and their names were made public immediately.
“Recently, efforts have been increased across relevant agencies, and communication has taken place,” Peskov noted during a conference call. “These discussions resulted in both Vogel’s release and the return of one of Russia’s citizens, who is currently detained in the United States. This citizen will also make his way back home shortly.”
When questioned about the possibility that the Russian being released could be Alexander Vinnik, Peskov refrained from confirming, insisting that the name would not be disclosed until after the individual arrives in Russia. Vinnik was detained in 2017 in Greece at the request of the U.S. for alleged cryptocurrency fraud, and he was subsequently extradited to the U.S., where he entered a guilty plea last year for conspiracy related to money laundering.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chose not to provide further details regarding the terms of the agreement that facilitated Fogel’s release. He criticized the manner in which the U.S. hastily announced the news, stating, “Our American counterparts opted to make this announcement, while we prefer a different approach in handling these agreements.” Lavrov emphasized the importance of maintaining confidentiality for effective diplomacy.
Fogel, an American history teacher who was classified as wrongfully detained by Russia, was released and returned to the U.S. on Tuesday. The White House indicated that this exchange might signify a cooling of tensions and could pave the way for discussions aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Fogel had been arrested in August 2021 and was serving a substantial 14-year sentence.
Steve Witkoff, who served as a special envoy under former President Donald Trump, accompanied Fogel as he left Russia and arrived at the White House, where he received a warm greeting from Trump. Hailing from Pennsylvania, Fogel is now anticipated to reunite with his family.
Trump refrained from disclosing whether he had discussed Fogel’s situation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and did not specify what concessions the U.S. made in exchange for Fogel’s release.
