MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Tuesday that Donald Trump’s criticism of Vladimir Putin will not affect plans for a US-Russia prisoner exchange that the two presidents discussed in a call last week.
Trump called Putin “crazy” over the weekend after Russia pummelled Ukraine with its largest drone attack since the start of its full-scale offensive, launched in February 2022.
The Kremlin downplayed the spat when asked whether the US leader’s comments could disrupt plans for a nine-for-nine prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.
“It is clear that the Russian and American sides should not and can not agree on everything. There will always be certain disagreements,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“But there is political will to implement the agreements that have been reached, and the work continues. We highly value this mutual willingness,” he added.
Following a two-hour call between Putin and Trump last week, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said the pair had discussed “swapping nine people for nine people” — without giving any details on which prisoners.
There have been several rounds of prisoner exchanges between Washington and Moscow since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Washington has accused Moscow of “hostage taking” — arresting US citizens on baseless charges in a bid to use them as pawns to secure the release of Russians behind bars in the West.
In the latest swap last month, dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina was released from a Russian jail — where she was serving 12 years on treason charges after donating around $50 to a Ukrainian charity.
In exchange the United States freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen accused of breaking sanctions by trying to export US-made electronics to Russian military companies.
Kremlin says Trump criticism won’t hit US-Russia prisoner swap plans
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Kremlin says Trump criticism won’t hit US-Russia prisoner swap plans
Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers
- Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops
- The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities
HAVANA: Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation’s north coast.
The island’s interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”
Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the US who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.
“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”
Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.
Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island’s economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a US military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
