President Donald Trump remained tight-lipped on the terms of the deal he struck with Vladimir Putin to free an American schoolteacher who spent nearly four years in a Russian jail but he was happy to lavish praise on his counterpart’s intervention.
The U.S. president hinted that the release of Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel, held in Russia since 2021, could play a role in his plan to broker peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv, but refused to elaborate on what Washington gave up to guarantee the teacher’s return on Tuesday.
“I think there’s good will, in terms of the war,” Trump said. “I think this … could be a big, important part in getting the war over.”
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Speaking alongside Fogel at the White House, Trump said the terms of the deal that freed Fogel—who had been serving a 14-year term on drug-trafficking charges—were “very fair, very reasonable. Not like deals you’ve seen over the years.”
Trump underlined how he believed Putin had struck a reasonable deal. “They were very fair,” he said.
Fogel, a 63-year-old ex-diplomat, was released after Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, flew to Moscow, landing on Tuesday morning. The Kremlin at the time refused to comment on his arrival and said no plans for talks were in place.
News of the teacher’s return to Washington broke hours later.
Fogel was arrested at a Moscow airport in 2021 for possession of less than an ounce of medical marijuana, which doctors had prescribed him in the U.S. He had worked as a teacher in Moscow’s Anglo-American School since 2012.
“I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now. I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all, and President Trump is a hero,” Fogel said. “These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes. The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor to get me home are the heroes. I am in awe of what they all did.”
“It’s great to have you back, and have a great life,” Trump told Fogel.
Reacting to news of Fogel’s release, his sister Anne said in a post on Facebook on Tuesday: “Good God. He’s finally out!!!!!”
His wife, Jane and sons Ethan and Sam said in a statement to multiple news outlets: “This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal.”
Social media commenters questioned why Trump appeared to duck reporters’ questions about the terms of the deal he made with his Russian counterpart to release Fogel.
Some speculated that Trump gave in to some of Putin’s terms regarding possible peace negations with Ukraine for the nearly three-year-old war.
The Russian president has demanded that Ukraine concede a significant portion of its territory to Russia and give up any aspirations it has of joining NATO. Trump has suggested that both Kyiv and Moscow must make concessions to end the conflict, and suggested in an interview with Fox News that aired Monday that Ukraine “may be Russian someday.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Russia’s Foreign Ministry for comment.
“If you say ‘very fair’ more than once, it’s probably a scam,” one user commented on X.
“This is so awesome Marc Fogel is home and someone else coming home tomorrow! BUT. What was the deal made? Why so secretive. Usually the American people are told what or who was given in exchange,” another X user wrote.
“If he refuses to tell us the terms, we can be certain he bent over for Putin,” another tweeted.
Trump himself told reporters “somebody else very special” is being released on Wednesday.
He added: “But we wanted to get this done. Very important. And Steve wanted to actually fly over and get Marc and get him home properly, because it could be a pretty tough trip.”
