Russia Highly Appreciates UAE, Saudi Arabia’s Assistance in Bout Exchange

 / Go to the mediabankRussian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov / Go to the mediabankMOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Russian Foreign Ministry highly appreciates the assistance of the United Arab Emirates in the exchange of Russian citizen Viktor Bout, which indicates a high degree of trust between the countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Sputnik.Viktor Bout was serving a 25-year sentence in the United States on charges of plotting to kill US citizens and materially support terrorism. On Thursday, he was released from a US prison after nearly 15 years in a trade for US basketball player Brittney Griner. The exchange took place in the UAE.”We highly appreciate it, this indicates the degree of trust between our countries. Our friends from the Emirates and Saudi Arabia are helping in such rather difficult humanitarian operations,” Bogdanov said.Bout, alleged to have been involved in arms trafficking during the 1990s and early 2000s, was convicted of conspiring to provide arms to a Colombian rebel group as part of a US sting operation.

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