MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Delegate of the Ulyanovsk Region’s legislative assembly Viktor Bout told TASS that he plans on meeting with the Russians who came back home following a prisoner exchange.

"I will gladly meet with all those Russians who returned, our people, because we don’t leave our own behind," he said.

Bout added that it will be very interesting to exchange emotions and recollections. "The most important thing right now, probably, is to give families some time to be together. So those who returned can relax, enjoy the opportunity to be with their loved ones, with their near and dear, with their friends. And simply take a stroll around their favorite places, wherever they live now," he added.

In 2022, Bout was returned to Russia as part of a prisoner swap for US basketball player Brittney Griner.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported earlier that eight Russian nationals, detained or convicted in several NATO countries, as well as two minors, had returned home following a prisoner swap conducted at Ankara’s airport. One of those swapped was Russian citizen Vadim Krasikov, who had been serving a life sentence in Germany. The Russians were exchanged for a group of individuals who acted in the interests of other countries.

According to US President Joe Biden, Russia released 16 people as part of the prisoner swap, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, convicted of espionage in Russia.