NEW YORK, August 11. /TASS/. The release of US citizen Robert Gilman may be a step aimed at de-escalation made in the run-up to the upcoming visit to Russia by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, US historian and US-Russia relations expert Gilbert Doctorow has told TASS.

"I agree with your suggestion that the release is related to the expected visit to Moscow of Donald Trump's emissaries Steve Witlkoff and Jared Kushner," he said, adding that the move may be aimed at de-escalation between Russia and NATO.

On August 8, a source told TASS that Witkoff and Kushner, who are also involved in working out a deal on Ukraine, may visit Moscow and Kiev within 7-10 days.

On August 11, US President Donald Trump announced that US servicemen Robert Gilman convicted in Russia had been released and was on his way home. In Trump’s words, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release him "on a humanitarian basis," without exchanging him for any of Russians held in custody on the US territory. According to Reuters, Gilbert, detained for drunk debauchery on a railway station in Central Russia’s Voronezh in 2022, is being brought to the United States aboard a special flight. Meanwhile, Associated Press reported that the US citizen will be taken to a hospital in Texas for medical examination and treatment.