Washington — At least one U.S. citizen who was being detained in Belarus was released Wednesday, the United States’ top hostage negotiator said.
Adam Boehler, the U.S. envoy for hostages, told CNN that the individual’s name “at this point needs to remain private.” Two other individuals were released Wednesday, as part of the deal, he said. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty identified its journalist, Andrey Kuznechyk, as one of the people released.
Chris Smith, deputy assistant secretary for Eastern Europe, said the deal was negotiated by Belarusian authorities in Minsk and that it signaled a desire by Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, to have a stronger relationship with the U.S.
“This was a unilateral gesture by the Lukashenko authorities,” Smith told CNN. “They’re responding to strength. They’re looking to improve ties. This was a gesture on their side.”
Smith said the three individuals were handed over to U.S. custody in Belarus, and the U.S. then “brought them back out through Lithuania.”
The news comes a day after Marc Fogel, an American teacher who had been held in Russia since 2021, was freed by the Kremlin, an ally of Belarus.
President Trump said Tuesday that another American held abroad would be released Wednesday, too, saying, “somebody else is being released tomorrow that you will know of.” But he did not elaborate further.
Fogel met with Mr. Trump at the White House late Tuesday, shortly after arriving back in the U.S.
The Biden administration only recently declared Fogel to be wrongfully detained, years after his arrest on drug charges in Moscow. His family said Fogel was carrying 17 grams of marijuana to treat chronic back pain.
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
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