(NewsNation) — Special envoy Steve Witkoff said the return of American Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia since 2021, could be a sign of the future working relationship between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump and Putin had a “great friendship, and I think now it’s going to continue,” Witkoff told NewsNation on Wednesday.
“I think that getting Marc Fogel out was critical, and the Russians were very, very helpful in that effort and very accommodating,” Witkoff said.
In a live interview on NewsNation’s “Morning in America,” Witkoff said Fogel was “exultant” to be back in the United States.
Once Vogel was told he was on American soil, he was so excited he did a “scissor kick,” Witkoff said.
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“He was kissing people and hugging people he had never met before in his life,” Witkoff said.
Fogel, a teacher, was arrested for bringing medical marijuana into the country in 2021 and sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2022.
The Trump administration announced it had secured Fogel’s release on Tuesday, and Trump greeted Fogel at the White House that night.
Fogel thanked Trump and members of the administration for his safe return and said the “superorganism of people” supporting him helped sustain him during his time in Russian prison.
As for whose release the administration is working on next, Witkoff said Trump will “use his strength to bring everybody home that we can.”
