An emotional Marc Fogel, the American teacher held captive in Russia for more than three years, told President Trump on Tuesday night that he was forever indebted to him for securing his release as he was greeted at the White House.
With an American flag draped around his neck, Mr. Fogel stepped out of a car and into snow falling on Washington, gripping Mr. Trump’s hand as they stood at the side entrance to the White House.
“President Trump is a hero,” Mr. Fogel said.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Fogel then moved into the Diplomatic Room, where both answered questions from a group of reporters. Mr. Fogel acknowledged his 95-year-old mother, who had continued to push for his freedom.
“To me you look damn good,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Fogel, before taking him to see the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House residence. He criticized President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s administration for not making the release of Mr. Fogel happen earlier.
Biden administration officials said in December that they had sought to free Mr. Fogel in a series of prisoner swaps with Russia but had been unsuccessful. Those swaps led to the release in August last year of high-profile prisoners including Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter wrongly accused of spying while working as a journalist, and the former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Mr. Trump said he hoped the release of Mr. Fogel, a Pennsylvanian described by U.S. officials as part of an as-yet-revealed “exchange,” would be an initial step toward negotiating an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, indicated in an interview on CNN on Tuesday that another American would be released on Wednesday but did not say from where or provide details.
On his platform, Truth Social, Mr. Trump posted a photo of Mr. Fogel after stepping off the private plane that brought him home, wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers knit hat and kissing the snow-covered ground.
The striking scene capped days of covert discussions. Mr. Fogel’s release was negotiated in recent days by Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, whose portfolio has expanded to include the war in Ukraine. Mr. Witkoff flew to Moscow on his private jet, which was picked up by a website that tracks such planes, as opposed to a government plane. Mr. Trump told reporters that was done to save the government money.
Mr. Fogel had worked at the Anglo-American School of Moscow for almost 10 years, but was arrested at an airport in the city in August 2021. He was found to have been traveling with cannabis, which his lawyer has said was intended to alleviate back pain. Mr. Fogel was found guilty in June 2022 for supposedly engaging in “large-scale drug smuggling” and sentenced to 14 years at a labor camp.
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