U.S. President Donald Trump met Marc Fogel at the White House on Feb. 11 after the U.S. schoolteacher was freed from a Russian prison in a deal negotiated between Moscow and Washington.
Fogel, arrested at a Russian airport in 2021 for possessing medical marijuana, was released in an agreement brokered by Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
"There's good will in terms of the war," Trump said when asked if Fogel's release could be a step toward a peace deal in Ukraine. "You (Fogel) could be a big part of it, actually, because it could be a big, important part of getting the war over with Ukraine."
"And we appreciate President (Vladimir) Putin for what he did," Trump added.
When asked by a journalist whether Russia received anything in return for Fogel's release, Trump said, "Not much, no. We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that's the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war."
The U.S. president also claimed the deal was "very fair, very reasonable" and hinted that "somebody else is being released tomorrow."
Fogel's release follows Trump's claims of speaking with Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, though the Kremlin has not confirmed these discussions. The U.S. president has pledged to broker a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine war but provided few details on how he plans to achieve that.
Martin Fornusek
Witkoff flew Fogel out of Russia on his private plane, marking the first known visit of a U.S. official to Moscow since 2021. The U.S. government classified Fogel as "unjustly detained" in December 2024, increasing diplomatic efforts to secure his release.
Fogel's family had pushed for the designation after he was excluded from a high-profile prisoner swap in August 2024 that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive and ex-Marine Paul Whelan.
Russia has detained several U.S. nationals since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with many serving lengthy sentences or awaiting trial. The U.S. has denounced many of these arrests as unjust and politically motivated.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who met U.S. Ambassador in Moscow Lynne Tracy just hours before Fogel's release, said in December 2024 that Moscow was open to further prisoner exchanges with the U.S.
Abbey Fenbert
