""I met some U.S. officials and members of the Trump team on some issues that are humanitarian in nature, such as possible exchanges of prisoners that the U.S. side has been working on," Dmitriev told Axios in a phone interview on Monday. A source with knowledge said Dmitriev discussed the idea with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and other administration officials. A U.S. official said the discussions were positive but no agreements had been reached. "The U.S. will welcome the release of any detained American," the U.S. official said."
"State of play: Neither Dmitriev nor the U.S. official said which prisoners on either side could be involved in an exchange. Earlier this year, the U.S. side gave the Russians a list of nine Americans they wanted returned to the U.S., Reuters reported. Eight still appear to be in Russian custody: Stephen James Hubbard, 73, who was captured in Ukraine in 2022 and accused of serving as a mercenary. His family denies that and the U.S. State Department considers him "wrongfully detained.""
Russia hopes a new prisoner exchange with the U.S. will show goodwill and create more trust between the countries. Dmitriev, who runs Russia's sovereign wealth fund, visited the U.S. Oct. 24-26 and met U.S. officials and some members of the Trump team on humanitarian issues such as possible prisoner exchanges. A source said Dmitriev discussed the idea with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and other administration officials. A U.S. official described the discussions as positive but said no agreements had been reached and said the U.S. would welcome the release of any detained American. Earlier this year the U.S. provided Russia a list of nine Americans it wants returned; eight still appear to be in Russian custody.
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