Previously from Abu Dhabi, John Ratcliffe, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), announced this action in the context of the talks between the Russian and US delegations in Istanbul this Thursday.
The release stresses that Moscow freed US-Russian dual national Ksenia Karelina, implicated in the provision of financial aid to Ukraine, and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of high treason.
Meanwhile, Washington released Artur Petrov, with Russian and German citizenship, who was jailed in the summer of 2023 on alleged violations of export restrictions.
Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushail Mushailov, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also confirmed her release.
Russia and the United States began thawing relations on February 12 through a phone call between their presidents, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump. The first one occurred after Trump took office in January 2025.
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