Russia Frees Arrested American: Trump's Special Envoy Flew to Moscow to Pick Him Up

US Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow on February 11 to pick up convicted American Mark Fogel, who was released by Russian authorities, reports Air force.

According to the American side, Vogel, a former diplomat and teacher detained in Russia in 2021 and convicted on drug smuggling charges, is returning to the United States as part of a “swap” with Moscow, but it is not yet known who the United States will release in return.

"President Donald Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff can announce that Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace along with Mark Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia. President Trump, Steve Witkoff, and the President's advisers negotiated the exchange, which serves as a show of good faith on the part of the Russians and a sign that we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and horrific war in Ukraine," Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement.

On the subject: Russia and the United States conducted a large-scale prisoner exchange: Ilya Yashin, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and others were released

Witkoff arrived in Moscow on February 11 on a Gulfstream G650ER business jet. Russian and Ukrainian journalists had previously reported on the plane's arrival in the Russian capital. The Kremlin had stated that it had no information about Witkoff's arrival.

Witkoff previously played a key role in brokering a ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip and became the first senior American official to visit Moscow in recent years.

Former US Embassy employee Mark Vogel, who worked as a teacher at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, was detained at Sheremetyevo Airport in August 2021. Marijuana and hashish oil were reportedly found in his luggage.

In the summer of 2022, Vogel was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug smuggling. He denied all charges.

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"We are extremely grateful, relieved and shocked that after more than three years in captivity, our father, husband and son Mark Vogel is finally coming home," the family said in a statement.

Russian authorities have not commented on reports of Vogel's release and a possible exchange.

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