[US-Russia prisoner swap: both exchanged individuals hold dual citizenship]

On April 10, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X, "American Kseniya Kalenina is aboard a plane returning to her home in the United States. She was illegally detained by Russia for over a year, and President Trump ensured her release."

The Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation subsequently informed TASS that Russian President Putin pardoned Kalenina and exchanged her with Arthur Petrov. Petrov, a German-Russian dual citizen, was arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at the request of U.S. authorities on charges of allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics manufactured in the United States to Russia.

The FSB also released a video showing the exchange process at Abu Dhabi International Airport. About a dozen people dressed in suits, their faces blurred, supervised the prisoner exchange. In the video, Petrov said he felt "not bad," but was very tired due to two days without sleep.

In January 2024, Kalenina was arrested while visiting relatives in Yekaterinburg, Russia. She was initially charged with "minor hooliganism," but authorities later accused her of treason, stating she donated approximately $50 to a Ukrainian charity. In August, a Russian court sentenced Kalenina to 12 years in prison, and her appeal in the fall was rejected.

According to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) played a central role in facilitating Thursday's exchange. It is said that CIA Director John Ratcliffe held negotiations with FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov and attended the handover ceremony at Abu Dhabi airport.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Ratcliffe as saying in a statement, "Today, President Trump has brought another American illegally detained by Russia back home. I am proud of the CIA officials who worked tirelessly to achieve this, and we thank the UAE government for facilitating this exchange."

It was reported that since becoming CIA director, Ratcliffe has spoken multiple times with Bortnikov and SVR Director Sergei Naryshkin. The newspaper stated that Bortnikov also participated in last year’s negotiations to secure the release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovitch.

Kalenina's lawyer, Mikhail Mushaylov, said his client has been released by Russian police and has contacted her parents. Kalenina is one of several Americans and US-Russia dual citizens arrested by Russia; US officials have been discussing these cases with Russian counterparts.

This prisoner swap is the second such exchange between Washington and Moscow since Trump took office earlier this year.

In February, the U.S. secured the release of American teacher Mark Vogel, who was imprisoned in Russia on drug charges, in exchange for the release of Russian cryptocurrency figure Alexander Vinnik. The Trump administration praised Vogel's release as a positive step in diplomacy and a potential opening for future negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829020945365072/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.