ANKARA, April 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone conversation on Thursday for the exchange of Russian Konstantin Yaroshenko for US citizen Trevor Reed which took place in Turkey.

"During the talks, an exchange of opinions took place on the swap between Russia and the US which was conducted in Turkey yesterday, as well as about events related to the war in Ukraine. During the talks, Russian President Putin thanked President Erdogan for exchanging Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko for US Marine Trevor Reed which took place in Turkey yesterday with the coordination and control of the National Intelligence Organization. President Erdogan said that the mediation by Turkey in this exchange is not only the sign of the significance it places on peace, dialogue and cooperation but also of its importance from the point of view of its mediating mission," the office of the Turkish president told journalists.

On April 27, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Russian Konstantin Yaroshenko had been exchanged for US citizen Trevor Reed. Konstantin Yaroshenko was convicted in the United States in 2011 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He pled not guilty and slammed his arrest as a provocation, emphasizing that he was framed by US authorities.

American student Trevor Reed was sentenced in Russia in 2020 to nine years in a penal colony for violently assaulting police officers in Moscow.