Washington:
The United States on Thursday exchanged a ban-busting suspect for a ballet dancer organized by Russia, pushed to push to another swap as Moscow and Washington under President Donald Trump.
Moscow issued Los Angeles-based Ballet Dancer Kesenia Karelina, a US-Russian double national national for a one-time donation of “treason” for a one-time donation of one-$ 50 for $ 50 for $ 50.
Washington freed Arthur Petrov by Russian-German National in Russian-German, who was accused of illegally exporting US-made electronics to manufacturers supplying Russian army.
The exchange took place at an airport in Abu Dhabi, where a dozen people were wearing a suit, shown in the video posted by Russia’s FSB Security Service.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago, Trump demanded to reset the relationship with Moscow after taking over, which had brought bilateral relations to its lowest point three years before the Cold War.
Trump said Karelina’s case was brought to her attention by the President of the UFC mixed martial arts league and the United States then asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to free her.
“He is now out, and it was good. So we appreciate it,” Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting.
“We hope that we are going to be able to make a deal soon with Russia and Ukraine to stop the fight. It’s very insensitive,” said Trump.
The FSB video showed that Petrov was sitting in an aircraft, when he was freed, an unseen interviewer told the interviewer that he did not sleep for two days, but otherwise there was no complaint.
Petrov, who was arrested in Cyprus in 2023 and extradited in the United States, was facing 20 years in the US jail.
– ‘positive’ step –
CIA Director John Rycliffe was the leading conversation with Russian intelligence and foreign partners, the CIA said.
Ratcliffe thanked the UAE in a statement “to enable this exchange.”
A CIA spokesperson said, “Other Americans are wrongly detained in Russia.”
“We see this exchange as a positive step and will continue to work for their release.”
The State Department said that the United States has raised a special case of Stephen Hubard, an English teacher living in Eastern Ukraine, who were stripped of the Russian soldiers during the attack and accused of being a mercenary.
“We continue to work to detain Shri Hubard and all other Americans unjustly,” the State Department spokesman Tami Bruce told reporters.
As the prisoner was swapped, the US and the Russian delegation were meeting on restoring the embassy staff after years of diplomatic expulsion in Istanbul.
The state department said after the meeting that Washington is a matter of concern about prohibition on its citizens working in American missions in Russia, Moscow.
The state department said that the two sides went to form an agreement on banking access to their diplomats, despite the US sanctions on Russia.
– Prisoner Swap –
Karelina, 33, was serving a 12-year jail sentence for a-urine charity around $ 50 for a-50.
She was arrested in January 2024 in the city of Yechinburg, while a trip to visit her family and was accused of “treason”.
Russia’s Federal Security Service accused him of contributing to the Ukraine’s army “equipment, weapons and ammunition” – he refused. His supporters say that he donated to a US-based organization that provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Petrov was accused of illegally exporting electronic components to Russia by US authorities for violating Washington’s sanctions against Moscow during the Ukraine War during the Ukraine War.
In mid -February, after a call between Putin and Trump, Russia released the Kalb Wayne Buyers, who was arrested for the transport of Canbis Gummy Sweets at a 28 -year -old American citizen.
Washington and Moscow also exchanged American teacher Mark Phogel for Russian computer expert Alexander Vennik in early February.
Since the end of the Cold War, the largest US-Russian prisoner exchange occurred on August 1, 2024. This included the release of journalists, including WSJ Reporter Ivan Gorskovic, and dissatisfied in Russia in exchange for alleged Russian spies held in the West.
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