American arrested in Moscow on drug smuggling charges is freed ahead of Russia-US talks

Russia has freed a US citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a US official.

Russia has freed a US citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a US official. The move appears to be an effort to ease tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on February 7 at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage. According to media reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a “significant amount” of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years. Byers has been released from custody and is in the US embassy in Moscow where he is awaiting a flight home, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported Monday, citing a Facebook post by his parents. A US official confirmed to The Associated Press that Byers was released to the embassy late on Sunday evening. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday in response to a question about Byers that Moscow expects “to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations” at the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, “so certain events can be viewed in this context.” It wasn’t immediately clear whether Byers’ fiancee was also released. Russian media reports identified her as Naida Mambetova and said she was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges.