In a move seen as a goodwill gesture towards President Donald Trump, Russia has freed a second American citizen within a week.
This comes just before the anticipated peace talks between the United States and Russia regarding the Ukraine conflict, set to take place in Saudi Arabia.
The American released was identified as 28-year-old Kalob Wayne Byers, a nurse and musician, according to Daily Mail. He was detained at Moscows Vnukovo Airport on February 7 on charges of drug smuggling. His parents described his release as a 'miracle', coming just before the sensitive US-Russian talks aimed at resolving the three-year conflict. Byers, along with his Russian fiance Naida Mambetova, 24, was accused of possessing cannabis-laced marmalade. It remains unclear whether Mambetova has also been released.
Reports suggest that Byers could have faced up to ten years in prison after his arrest at the Russian airport. He was initially ordered to be held in detention for 30 days after being accused of attempting to smuggle a 'significant amount' of drugs into the country from Istanbul. Byers, however, claimed that he needed the cannabis products for epilepsy.
Byers' release follows that of Marc Fogel, 63, a teacher from Pennsylvania who taught at the Anglo-American School of Moscow. Fogel, who was detained in 2021 on drug charges, was pardoned by Russia last week. He was swapped with Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, 45, a cryptocurrency expert who had been jailed in the US on money laundering charges.
In a social media post, Byers' parents confirmed that their son was now in American custody and at the US embassy awaiting his flight home. They added, 'He is now back on the medicine that helps keep his epilepsy under control but he was without his medication for eight days.'
The release of Byers comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia for the Ukraine peace talks with Russian officials. Rubio had a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on Saturday. He is set to meet Russian officials alongside Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The identities of the Russian officials they will meet remain undisclosed.
Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the talks would take place on Tuesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh, citing unnamed sources. However, Ukraine officials and other European leaders claim they were not informed about these bilateral meetings. These talks are among the first high-level in-person discussions in years between Russian and US officials and are meant to precede a meeting between the US and Russian presidents.
This development follows President Donald Trump's phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, during which he ordered top officials to begin negotiations on the war, a promise he made repeatedly during his presidential campaign.
However, other US citizens, including 34-year-old ballerina Ksenia Karelina, remain incarcerated in Russia amid rumors of a significant exchange in the offing. Karelina is serving a 12-year sentence under Putin's stringent laws for donating $51.80 to a US organization offering charitable aid to Kyiv. The US maintains that she is wrongfully detained.
The list of detained Americans also includes Stephen James Hubbard, 73, who was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison after being convicted of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine. Gordon Black, an active duty US staff sergeant based in South Korea, was detained on suspicion of stealing money from his Russian girlfriend. Michael Leake, a musician and former US paratrooper, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for drug smuggling.
The fate of these Americans remains uncertain as the US and Russia prepare to engage in peace talks. The outcome of these discussions could potentially influence the future of these detainees and the overall US-Russian relations.
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