WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump suggested on Oct. 20 that he is close to securing the release of Stephen Hubbard, an American teacher who has been held in a Russian prison for more than four years.
Hubbard, 73, is a retired English teacher from a small town in Michigan who was living in eastern Ukraine when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Russian forces captured Hubbard at the start of the war and brought him to Moscow, where he was sentenced by a court to seven years in prison.
Trump said that he has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to release Hubbard.
"I’ve been talking to President Putin about Mr. Hubbard. I’ve been talking to him at length," Trump told reporters in remarks from the Oval Office.
"It’s time to get Mr. Hubbard back."
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for peace who has led negotiations with Kyiv and Moscow, will travel to Saint Petersburg, Russia, on Oct. 21 for talks with Russian officials about ending the war in Ukraine.
A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Witkoff’s trip "is also expected to include efforts to seek the release of wrongfully detained American citizen Hubbard, reflecting President Trump’s continued commitment to bringing Americans home."
Trump initially hesitated when he was asked by a reporter on Oct. 20 about whether his administration was close to a deal to free Hubbard.
"I don't want to talk about it, but everybody’s been after Hubbard for a long time, long before I got here," Trump said. "Just remember that question for a couple of days from now."
"We have been focused on Hubbard," he added.
Since Trump and Putin last spoke by phone on Oct. 9, the U.S. president has eased sanctions on Moscow and increased pressure on Kyiv to end a war that was started by Russia.
Immediately after his call with Putin, Trump announced that the U.S. would import Russian diesel to lower fuel prices. The U.S. president later agreed to waive sanctions on Russia that were due to take effect in the coming days.
The recent string of policy moves that have favored Russia have met with outrage in Europe and Ukraine, where leaders have accused Trump of attempting to make Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy capitulate to Putin.
Many lawmakers in Congress, including several members of Trump’s own party, have criticized the White House for appearing to side with Putin over Zelenskyy even as Russia escalates attacks on Ukraine.
Witkoff will travel to Saint Petersburg from Norway, where he met in Oslo on Oct. 20 with Zelenskyy, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb for negotiations about ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump suggests he is nearing deal with Putin to free detained American
