US: Prisoner exchange led to trust-building between Washington and Moscow.
According to TASS, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, referred to the recent prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow and stressed that this issue has led to trust-building between the two countries.
After the release of Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik in exchange for the release of American citizen Mark Fogel, Witkoff said: “We have established a very good informal channel, and it turned out that this channel is very reliable and also very constructive.”
He added: “I believe that this channel will lead to a lot of trust-building and honesty between the Trump administration and Putin. The exchange that took place will probably bring many benefits and derivatives in the future, including in the issue of resolving the war in Ukraine.”
Witkoff had previously traveled to Russia and left Russian airspace with Fogel. The man was imprisoned in Russia for drug trafficking. Witkoff is among the representatives whom Trump has mentioned as a member of the negotiating team with Moscow to resolve the war in Ukraine.