WASHINGTON, February 12. /TASS/. The United States highly appreciates the release of American citizen Marc Fogel by the Russian authorities, US President Donald Trump said.
"I appreciate very much what they did, letting Mark go home," he said during a meeting with Fogel at the White House.
Fogel, in turn, noted that Russian President Vladimir "was very generous and statesmanlike in granting me a pardon".
Trump described the terms of the agreement with Russia on the American's return as fair and reasonable and alluded to the fact that somebody else could be released on Wednesday, but did not explain who he was talking about or where this would happen.
Fogel, a lecturer at an Anglo-American school in Moscow, previously worked at the US Embassy in Russia. He and his wife had diplomatic status until May 2021. He was detained upon arrival in Moscow from New York on August 14, 2021. At Sheremetyevo Airport, he was stopped by customs officers while walking through the "green corridor" because of the reaction of service dogs to his luggage. Marijuana and hash oil were found in the foreigner's luggage. Investigators suspected that Fogel had previously used his diplomatic status to smuggle drugs into Russia for distribution to schoolchildren. Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug smuggling.