Russia releases US Marine vet as part of prisoner exchange

Russia and the United States carried out a dramatic prisoner exchange on Wednesday, trading a Marine veteran jailed in Moscow for a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving a long prison sentence in America, a senior U.S. official and the Russian foreign ministry said.

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State releases statement below:

I am pleased to announce the release of U.S. citizen Trevor Reed, who was wrongfully detained in Russia. We extend our deep appreciation to our many allies and partners who helped us in this effort.

I also wish to commend Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Ambassador Carstens, Ambassador John Sullivan, and others in our government who have worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome.

We welcome this important release, while continuing to call for the release of wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan.  We also remain committed to securing the freedom of all U.S. nationals wrongfully detained abroad.