DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Moscow freed a Russian American convicted of treason in change for a Russian German man jailed on smuggling prices within the U.S., a prisoner swap that was accomplished Thursday as the 2 nations met to restore ties.
Ksenia Karelina is “on a airplane again house to the US,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in a submit on social media platform X. She was arrested within the Ural Mountains metropolis of Yekaterinburg in February 2024 and convicted of treason on prices stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine. U.S. authorities have known as the case “completely ludicrous.”
Arthur Petrov was launched as a part of a swap in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, based on the Federal Safety Service, or FSB, Russia’s most important safety and counterintelligence company. Petrov was arrested in Cyprus in August 2023 on the request of the U.S. on prices of smuggling delicate microelectronics to Russia and extradited to the U.S. a 12 months later.
Karelina was amongst a rising variety of Individuals arrested in Russia lately as tensions between Moscow and Washington spiked over the conflict in Ukraine. Her launch is the newest in a sequence of high-profile prisoner exchanges Russia and the U.S. carried out within the final three years — and the second since President Donald Trump took workplace and reversed Washington’s coverage of isolating Russia in an effort to finish the conflict in Ukraine.
CIA director John Ratcliffe stated in an announcement that the company performed “a key position participating with Russian intelligence.”
“The change exhibits the significance of holding traces of communication open with Russia, regardless of the deep challenges in our bilateral relationship,” it stated.
In the meantime, Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul for a second spherical of talks on normalizing embassies’ work following the primary such assembly in February. The State Division stated the delegations “exchanged notes to finalize an understanding to make sure the soundness of diplomatic banking for Russian and U.S. bilateral missions.”
It stated the U.S. reiterated its considerations in regards to the Russian ban on hiring of native workers, “the important thing obstacle to sustaining for steady and sustainable staffing ranges on the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.”
In February, Russia launched American instructor Marc Fogel, imprisoned on drug prices, in a swap that the White Home described as a part of a diplomatic thaw that would advance peace negotiations. That very same month, Russia launched one other American simply days after arresting him on drug smuggling prices.
Karelina, a former ballet dancer additionally recognized in some media as Ksenia Khavana, lived in Maryland earlier than shifting to Los Angeles. She was arrested when she returned to Russia to go to her household final 12 months.
The FSB accused her of “proactively” amassing cash for a Ukrainian group that was supplying gear to Kyiv’s forces. The First Division, a Russian rights group, stated the costs stemmed from a $51.80 donation to a U.S. charity aiding Ukraine.
Karelina’s lawyer, Mikhail Mushailov, stated on Instagram that she had been in contact together with her household since her launch.
“I’m overjoyed to listen to that the love of my life, Ksenia Karelina is on her method house from wrongful detention in Russia,” Karelina’s fiancé, Chris van Heerden, stated in an announcement. “She has endured a nightmare for 15 months and I can’t wait to carry her. Our canine, Boots, can be eagerly awaiting her return.”
He thanked Trump and his envoys, in addition to distinguished public figures who had championed her case.
White Home nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz stated on X that “President Trump and his administration proceed to work across the clock to make sure Individuals detained overseas are returned house to their households.”
The change was first reported by The Wall Road Journal.
Karelina was headed to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, based on an individual conversant in the state of affairs who insisted on anonymity to debate her case.
The United Arab Emirates’ state-run WAM information company launched pictures of Karelina boarding a airplane and certainly one of her standing subsequent to Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the U.S.
The FSB, which stated President Vladimir Putin had pardoned Karelina earlier than the swap, launched a video exhibiting her being escorted to a airplane someplace in Russia. The footage then featured of what seemed to be the scene of change on the Abu Dhabi airport, with Petrov strolling off a airplane and shaking fingers with Russian officers on the tarmac.
The identical video confirmed Petrov present process medical checkups on a flight to Russia. “I’ve no specific complaints, only a bit drained,” he stated.
Petrov was accused by the U.S. Justice Division of involvement in a scheme to obtain microelectronics topic to U.S. export controls on behalf of a Russia-based provider of important parts for the nation’s weapons industries. He was going through a 20-year jail time period within the U.S.
Abu Dhabi was the scene of one other high-profile prisoner swap between Russia and the US. In December 2022, American basketball star Brittney Griner was traded for the infamous Russian arms seller Viktor Bout.
The UAE has been a mediator in prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, whereas the skyscraper-studded metropolis of Dubai has develop into house to many Russians and Ukrainian who fled there after the beginning of Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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