Russia has released a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month for drug smuggling, the latest sign that tensions between Moscow and Washington are easing ahead of this week’s peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Kalob Byers, 28, and his Russian fiancée were detained on February 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport after customs found cannabis-laced marmalade in his luggage, according to Russian authorities. The candy, Byers claimed, was prescribed by a doctor to treat his seizures.
The couple traveled from Istanbul before they were arrested in the Russian capital. Byers was released to Moscow’s U.S. embassy Sunday night. It remains unclear if his fiancée was also released.
Drug smuggling charges in Russia carry prison sentences of up to ten years.
Marc Fogel, an American teacher also arrested on drug smuggling charges, was released from Russian prison last Tuesday after the Trump administration closed a prisoner swap. Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the U.S., was freed in exchange for Fogel.
Fogel’s release also represented a sign that the U.S. and Russia were preparing to enter peace talks, which start Tuesday in Saudi Arabia. Both nations’ willingness to negotiate peace was made evident by President Donald Trump’s lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and national security adviser Mike Waltz will lead the U.S. delegation while meeting with Russian officials to seek an end to the three-year-old war in Ukraine.
Notably, Ukraine will be absent from the negotiating table this week.
Unhappy with the Trump administration’s conversations with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would “never” accept a deal struck by the U.S. and Russia if he is not involved in the peace discussions.
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never,” he told NBC News anchor Kristen Welker in a Sunday morning interview on Meet the Press.
“The war in Ukraine is against us, and it is our human losses,” Zelensky said. “And we are thankful for all the support, unity between USA – in USA around Ukraine support, bipartisan unity, bipartisan support, we’re thankful for all of this. But there is not any leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us, about us.”
Zelensky also rejected an agreement that would have given half of Ukraine’s mineral resources in exchange for U.S. support. Waltz defended the deal as the best option for Ukraine’s security.
Trump confirmed Zelensky will take part in negotiations at some point.
“Yeah, I do. I do. He will be involved, yes,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Meanwhile, key European leaders are gathering on Monday for an emergency summit organized by French President Emmanuel Macron after the U.S. excluded them from the initial peace talks with Russia.