The children of two Russian intelligence agents, who were among those detained freed as part of a historic prisoner exchangeonly discovered their nationality when they were being flown to Moscow, the Kremlin said on Friday.
His parents, Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, were among 24 prisoners exchanged as part of a complex deal between several countries that in return freed high-ranking American detainees and Russian dissidents.
The couple had been posing as an Argentine couple in Slovenia, where they were convicted of espionage. Their two children flew back with them on Thursday from Turkey.
The boy and girl “found out they were Russian only when the plane took off from Ankara,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted them on the tarmac in Spanish, as they did not speak Russian and did not even know who Putin was, according to Peskov.
“When the children came down the steps of the plane – they don’t speak Russian – and Putin greeted them in Spanish, he said ‘Buenas noches,’” Peskov said. “They asked their parents yesterday who was meeting them, they didn’t even know who Putin was.”
After descending the steps of the plane, Dultseva, holding back tears, embraced Putin, who was standing on the red carpet laid out on the runway holding bouquets of flowers. Putin kissed Dultseva on the cheek and shoulder, and gave bouquets to her and her daughter.
Putin also briefly hugged Dultsev and then the rest of the freed Russians before the group walked together down the red carpet away from the plane.
Thursday’s huge swap was the result of years of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the US, Russia, Belarus and Germany, leading Berlin to agree to Moscow’s main demand: to release convicted Russian murderer Vadim Krasikov .
A total of eight people, including Krasikov, were sent back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were being held in Russia, including the former US Marine. Paul Whelan the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other Americans.
Dultsev and Dultseva pleaded guilty to espionage in a court in Ljubljana on Wednesday and were sentenced to prison terms.
While living undercover in Slovenia, Dultsev posed as an IT entrepreneur named Ludvig Gisch. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to more than a year and a half in prison, which the court said was equivalent to the time served. He was to be deported to Russia and was banned from entering Slovenia for five years.
Dultseva posed as an art dealer and gallery owner and went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos. She was also facing deportation.
During the call with journalists, Peskov also revealed some additional details of the prisoner exchange negotiations between Russia and the United States, saying that they were conducted primarily by the FSB and the CIA.
When asked about other Russians detained abroad, Peskov said that “the fate of all our Russians who are in custody abroad, in the United States, is a matter of constant concern for all our relevant agencies, which will continue the relevant work.”
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood and Ivana Kottasová contributed reporting.
Source: CNN Brasil

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