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2025-04-13 Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
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US and Russia exchange prisoners in 2nd swap since Trump took office
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[IsraelTimes] Moscow frees Ksenia Karelina, a US-Russian citizen sentenced to 12 years on treason charges, in exchange for Arthur Petrov, a Russian exporter held in US for sanctions violations
Russia and the United States exchanged prisoners on Thursday, the second such swap since US President Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
returned to the White House, as the two superpowers push for closer ties.
Moscow released US-Russian ballet dancer and spa worker Ksenia Karelina, who had been held in Russia since early 2024 and given a 12-year sentence for treason charges, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
 ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration...
said.
In exchange, the United States released Arthur Petrov, said Russian state media, citing the FSB security service. The Russian-German citizen had been facing up to 20 years in a US jail for violating export controls.
"American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year," Rubio wrote on social media platform X, adding that Trump "will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans."
Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, told AFP that "the exchange took place in Abu Dhabi and, as of a couple of hours ago, she was already flying out of Abu Dhabi."
The Wall Street Journal reported that, in exchange, the United States released Petrov, a German-Russian citizen who was arrested in Cyprus in 2023 at Washington’s request for allegedly exporting sensitive microelectronics.
"CIA Director John Ratcliffe and a senior Russian intelligence official conducted the talks for the swap," according to the WSJ, which cited an unidentified CIA official.
"Ratcliffe was present at the Abu Dhabi airport, where the exchange took place, and greeted Karelina as the US took custody of her, according to a person familiar with the matter," the report said.
A CIA spokeswoman told the paper that "the exchange shows the importance of keeping lines of communication open with Russia, despite the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship."
"While we are disappointed that other Americans remain wrongfully detained in Russia, we see this exchange as a positive step and will continue to work for their release," she said.
Russia has yet to confirm the swap, which would be the second since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
have since pushed for a restoration of closer ties between the two countries that were severely damaged by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Several meetings between the two sides have taken place, with a new round of talks beginning on Thursday in Istanbul on restoring some of the embassy operations that were scaled back following the Ukraine invasion.
PRISONER SWAPS
Karelina, who was born in 1991 and lived in Los Angeles, was serving a 12-year prison sentence for having donated around $50 to a pro-Ukraine charity.
She was arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in January 2024 while on a trip to visit her family. She was charged with "treason."
Russia’s Federal Security Service
... the successor to the KGB...
accused her of collecting funds for Ukraine’s army that were used to purchase "equipment, weapons and ammunition" — charges she denied. Her supporters say she donated to a US-based organization that delivers humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Petrov was accused by US authorities of illegally exporting electronic components to Russia for military use, in violation of Washington’s sanctions against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine.
In mid-February, following a call between Putin and Trump, Russia released Kalob Wayne Byers, a 28-year-old US citizen who was arrested at a Moscow airport for transporting cannabis treats.
Washington and Moscow also exchanged US teacher Marc Fogel for Russian computer expert Alexander Vinnik in early February.
The largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War between the two rival powers took place on August 1, 2024, allowing the release of journalists, including Wall Street Journal news hound Evan Gershkovich, and opponents held in Russia in exchange for alleged Russian spies held in the West.
Several US citizens remain incarcerated in Russian prisons, with Washington denouncing "hostage-taking" to obtain the release of Russians — including alleged spies — imprisoned in the West.
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Posted by trailing wife 2025-04-13 00:00||
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