Donald Trump welcomes Stephen Hubbard, the American freed by Russia, to the Oval Office
The president met in the Oval Office with the 74-year-old retired professor, defending the effectiveness of his direct diplomacy amid criticism of his handling of sanctions against Moscow.
President Donald Trump—Daniel Heuer/AFP.
President Donald Trump welcomed Stephen Hubbard, the U.S. citizen recently released after spending more than four years imprisoned in Russia on charges of having fought as a mercenary in Ukraine, to the Oval Office at the White House on Friday.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the president to describe the 74-year-old retired professor as a "very special man" who "suffered greatly" during his detention.
During the press conference, Trump asked Hubbard if he had been treated fairly during his confinement, to which the former detainee replied in the affirmative, adding that he was even treated "with kindness by some of the guards."
When asked about the exact moment he realized he would be released, the teacher expressed the skepticism with which he received the initial news after several false announcements over the years. "I had heard it many times before, and I reached the point where I had to see it to believe it," Hubbard explained.
"Actions speak louder than words. I never trusted what they said. It wasn't until they started to give me new clothes and leading me toward the prison exit. I went outside, saw the vehicle, and a couple of Russians accompanied me. That's when I believed—finally believed— on the drive from Moscow to St. Petersburg: I'm really going somewhere." Hubbard emphatically added that he would not have survived another year in that prison.
The White House's negotiation strategy
Hubbard's release took place during a meeting in St. Petersburg between U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump emphasized that the agreement was reached without a prisoner exchange, attributing the negotiations' success to his decision to postpone the sanctions Congress had approved against Moscow so as not to hinder communication channels.
In that regard, the president criticized the positions of Democrats and certain sectors of the media that were demanding immediate economic sanctions in the midst of the talks. Trump argued that had the sanctions been imposed during the negotiations, Hubbard would not be back on U.S. soil today.
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