Marc Fogel, an American held in Russia, has been freed after U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoffa, visited Moscow.

Mr Fogel, a school teacher in Pennsylvania, was held for allegedly bringing medical marijuana into Russia in August 2021, was released Tuesday by the Kremlin and flown out of the country on Mr Witkoff’s plane.

Mike Waltz, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, confirmed the latest on Tuesday, the New York Times reported.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, are able to announce that Mr Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” Mr Waltz said in a statement.

Mr Fogel, 63, was convicted of smuggling 17 grams of marijuana in Russia in 2021 and was subsequently jailed for 14 years.

He was only classified as wrongfully detained by the former President Joe Biden’s administration last year.

The Pittsburgh-area native had worked as a teacher at the Anglo-American School of Moscow since 2012 and taught overseas in countries like Oman and Malaysia.

Mr Witkoff, a billionaire New York real estate executive and close friend of Mr Trump, had been secretly negotiating the deal. His presence in Moscow became apparent when he flew there on his private jet, alerting online flight trackers.

The New York Times also reported that it was the first known trip to Moscow by a senior U.S. official since William J. Burns, the then C.I.A. director, who flew to the Russian capital in November 2021 to try to head off an invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Waltz, Mr Trump’s national security adviser, said in a statement that Mr Witkoff, at the president’s direction, had brought Mr Fogel out of Russia on his plane as part of an exchange.

However, he did not provide any details about whether the U.S. or an ally had released someone in return or what other steps the administration had taken to win Mr Fogel’s release.

“President Trump, Steve Witkoff and the president’s advisers negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine,” Mr Waltz said.

He did not disclose what the U.S. side of the bargain entailed, but previous negotiations have occasionally involved reciprocal releases of detainees and prisoners.

Mr Waltz did not say what the U.S. side of the bargain entailed. Previous negotiations have occasionally involved reciprocal releases of detainees and prisoners.

The development has been linked to goodwill on both sides, which is aimed at smoothing the path to talks over the war in Ukraine and potentially improving relations between Russia and the U.S.