Russia will discuss more prisoner swaps with US, spy chief says
MOSCOW
US-Russian ballerina Ksenia Karelina and her boyfriend South African boxer Chris van Heerden embrace as she arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, following her release from Russia on April 10, 2025.
Russia will discuss more prisoner swaps with the United States following an exchange earlier this week, the head of Moscow's foreign intelligence service said Friday.
Russia freed dual U.S. citizen Ksenia Karelina, convicted of "treason" over a donation she made to a pro-Ukraine charity, in exchange for alleged tech smuggler Arthur Petrov on Thursday in a sign of easing tensions.
U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to reset ties with the Kremlin since his return to the White House.
Russia's assault on Ukraine -- launched three years ago -- plunged bilateral relations to their lowest point since the Cold War.
"Dialogue with the new U.S. administration will certainly continue in various directions, including the issue you mentioned," spy chief Sergei Naryshkin told reporters when asked about future talks on prisoner swaps, according to the state RIA news agency.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that prisoner exchanges helped build "trust, which is much needed" between the two sides after ties deteriorated under former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration.
"but it will take a long time to finally restore it," he told reporters in Kazakhstan.
