US closing in on deal with Russia to release detained Americans, sources say

The Trump administration is closing in on a deal with Moscow that would see multiple Americans released from detention in Russia, two US officials and another source familiar with the matter told ABC News. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, are leading negotiations said to be in the final stages.

The talks have centered on freeing Stephen Hubbard, a 72-year-old retired teacher and the only American held in Russia officially designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department, along with several other US citizens. Officials cautioned that nothing has been finalized. Trump said on Monday he was “trying to get a hostage that the country has been after for a long time.” “Let’s see what happens,” Trump said. “That’ll be soon.”

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday: “Dialogue on all these issues is ongoing through intelligence service channels.” He added that Hubbard’s name was “certainly familiar,” but he had “nothing to report.”