Russia Frees US Citizen Stephen Hubbard
Did a direct phone call win an American's freedom through sheer strength or is this a cheap Kremlin gift designed to soften the table?
Story
Above: A screen broadcasts the trial of U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard in Moscow on Oct. 7, 2024. Image credit: Natalia Kolesnikova/Moscow City Court/Anadolu/Getty Images
The Facts
- Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher from Michigan, on Wednesday, after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg. Putin said Hubbard was already at Pulkovo Airport and was expected to fly to Texas.
- In a post on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the release followed a request he made directly to Putin by phone last week, saying the United States "was not required to give anything in return." Some previous releases of Americans from Russia came as a result of prisoner swaps.
- At the start of the St. Petersburg talks on Wednesday, Witkoff thanked Putin for the release, stating: "You are a humanitarian also, sir." The envoy also said he presented papers with "some ideas about the different elements of some sort of peace deal."
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The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Turns out one direct phone call can accomplish more than years of timid back-channel diplomacy. Thanks to the president's leadership, an American has walked out of a Russian prison without making a single concession. The credit must go to Trump for making the ask directly instead of letting this case drag on for years.
Anti-Trump narrative
Freeing one prisoner right before a high-stakes meeting is a cheap opening gift, and the Kremlin has run this play for decades. A gesture that costs Moscow nothing can buy enormous goodwill at the negotiating table. American gratitude makes for a lousy bargaining position, especially when the U.S. is led by a president so vulnerable to flattery as Trump.
