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Russia Frees American Prisoner Before Talks With U.S. [1]

['Julian E. Barnes', 'More About Julian E. Barnes']

Date: 2025-02-17  

Russia released another American held on drug charges on Monday, in what the Kremlin acknowledged was a good-will gesture on the eve of talks between senior Russian and U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia.

The American, Kalob Byers Wayne, 28, was arrested on Feb. 7 at a Moscow airport on charges of carrying a small amount of marijuana.

In response to a question about Mr. Wayne’s release, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, told reporters that the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday would be about restoring relations between Moscow and Washington, and “so certain events can be viewed in this context.”

It is not clear how broad the talks will be, but they will focus on the war in Ukraine. The U.S. team is led by officials that President Trump has named to negotiate an end to the war.

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/us/politics/russia-american-prisoner-released.html

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