Washington: US President Donald Trump has said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release American citizen Stephen Hubbard following a personal telephone request, describing the development as a diplomatic success amid continuing tensions between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at a Republican campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida, Trump said Hubbard had returned to the United States after spending years in Russian custody.
The President claimed he raised the case directly with Putin during a telephone conversation on Friday and secured an immediate commitment to release the American.
“I called Vladimir Putin on Friday and I said, will you do me a favour? Give me the person you have named Stephen Hubbard, give him back to me, would you, please?” Trump told supporters.
According to Trump, the Russian leader agreed. “And he said, I will do that,” Trump said.
The President said Hubbard had since arrived in the United States and reunited with his family.
“And he gave him back to us. And he just arrived in our country and it’s great, it’s great. His family is very happy,” he said.
Trump offered no details about the arrangements surrounding Hubbard’s release, including whether Moscow received any concessions or whether other diplomatic channels were involved.
He also did not disclose the precise date of Hubbard’s return or identify the American officials who helped coordinate the transfer.
The President presented the release as an example of his ability to secure results through direct engagement with foreign leaders.
He criticised the previous administration of President Joe Biden, arguing that Hubbard should have been brought home much earlier.
“It was under Biden that they took him, he should have gotten him back that night, the night they took him,” Trump said.
The President said Hubbard’s son had made a strong impression on him during efforts to secure his father’s freedom.
“I saw Stephen Hubbard’s son; he made a great impression. He really wanted to get his father; he was in Russia for years,” Trump said.
He described the American’s experience in Russian custody as difficult and suggested the family had endured a prolonged period of uncertainty.
The remarks came as Trump discussed his broader foreign policy record, including efforts to negotiate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump said he remained hopeful that the war could be brought to a conclusion.
“We’re close to ending, I hope, the Russia-Ukraine catastrophe. I hope we’re ending that,” he told the rally.
The President also cited what he described as the continuing human cost of the fighting, claiming that an average of 25,000 soldiers were being killed each month.
Trump did not indicate whether Hubbard’s release was connected to wider negotiations involving Russia and Ukraine.
The release, as described by Trump, would represent a separate humanitarian development in the US-Russia relationship, even as Washington and Moscow remain divided over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia’s detention of American citizens has been a recurring source of diplomatic friction. Previous cases have prompted negotiations over prisoner exchanges and the conditions under which detained Americans can return home.
(IANS)
