Before meeting in Riyadh

Next US citizen released from Russian custody

Kalob Wayne Byers in a photograph taken in the Russian court(Bild: AP)

In the run-up to the meeting of the US and Russian foreign ministers in Saudi Arabia today (Tuesday), several US citizens have been released from Russian and Belarusian custody in recent days. At the weekend, a 28-year-old arrested at the beginning of February for a small amount of marijuana was also able to return home.

According to media reports, Kalob Wayne Byers had a packet of hemp gummy bears in his luggage when he went through security at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport. He was then accused of smuggling drugs "in significant quantities". The penalty for this in Russia is between five and ten years in prison. However, the 28-year-old escaped trial.

The 28-year-old was arrested at Vnukovo airport.(Bild: Mikhail Starodubov stock.adobe)

Family thanks for "this miracle"
His family expressed enormous relief and gratitude, as can be seen from a Facebook post made by his mother at the weekend. "Thank you, Jesus, for this miracle! He is now in American custody at the US Embassy waiting for his flight home." The mother emphasized that her son consumes marijuana for therapeutic purposes because of his epilepsy.

Trump sees "sign of goodwill"
US President Donald Trump had already praised the release of the other citizens days ago as a "sign of good faith" on the part of Russia and vowed that "we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine". In the course of the exchange, at least one Russian citizen was released in the United States. However, the identity is not yet known.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov indicated on Monday that the decision to allow Byers to leave the country could be interpreted "in the context of rebuilding relations between Russia and the USA".