U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff secured the release of Marc Fogel on an unannounced visit to Moscow. LeeAnne Lowry

WASHINGTON >> U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, on an unannounced visit to Moscow, secured the release today of Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, the White House said.

Russia released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel on Tuesday following an unannounced visit to Moscow by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, the White House said. The release of 63-year-old Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since August 2021,

White House envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow on Tuesday and held talks that led to the release of American teacher Marc Fogel, who was detained in Russia, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement.

A U.S. official says Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading a delegation to Saudi Arabia for direct talks with Russian officials in the coming days to seek an end to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The official says that also expected to take part in the talks in Riyadh is national security adviser Michael Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Putin has often said the 2022 peace negotiations in Istanbul could serve as a framework for peace talks with Ukraine.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff said Sunday that Russia should not necessarily be blamed for sparking the war in Ukraine — a position that aligns with President Donald Trump’s recent strikes against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the three-year anniversary of the fighting looms.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff suggested Sunday that the war ... long before they attacked three years ago.” Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014 after anti-Ukrainian government protests during the ...

US President Donald Trump secretly instructed the special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, to assist the negotiation process between the Russian side and the Kiev regime. This was reported on February 11 by The New York Times (NYT).

As U.S.-Russian talks on ending the war in Ukraine kicked off in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, Keith Kellogg, U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, appears to have been partially sidelined from the negotiations.

President Donald Trump’s week included rewriting U.S. policy toward Russia and firing the country's senior military officer.