US President Donald Trump called the release of American teacher Mark Fogle a fair deal and noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin got very little in return, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Russia released Fogle on Tuesday after an unannounced visit by US special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow. The American teacher spent three and a half years in prison in a Russian prison. After returning to the US, Trump received Fogle at the White House.
"I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now", he tells the US president. "I think he looks pretty damn good", Trump told reporters who had come to cover the American teacher's welcome.
The release of Fogle, 63, who had been held in Russia since August 2021 and was serving a 14-year sentence, came at a time when Trump is seeking to improve relations with Moscow as part of efforts to secure an end to the war in Ukraine.
US Special Envoy for Hostage Issues Adam Boehler earlier told CNN that another American citizen would be released on Wednesday.