The White House announced Tuesday that it had secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American international school teacher imprisoned in Russia for the possession of marijuana since 2021. Fogel’s release was negotiated by Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.

Mike Walz, Trump’s national security advisor, said that the negotiation “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.” Trump promised during the 2024 presidential campaign to bring the Russo–Ukrainian War to a quick end.

Fogel’s family also released a statement, saying that they were “beyond grateful, relieved, and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband, and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home.”