Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on February 18, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026

Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on February 18, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026

Russia releases US citizen Kalob Byers Wayne before talks with the US in Saudi Arabia, aiming to restore diplomatic relations.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Russian government on Monday released a U.S. citizen that had been detained on charges of possession of a small amount of marijuana, ahead of talks between Russian and U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia, the New York Times reported.
Kalob Byers Wayne, 28, had been detained at Moscow's Vnukovo airport during a baggage check on February 7, after customs officials found cannabis-laced marmalade in his luggage.
The Kremlin’s spokesman said the Saudi-based talks on Tuesday would aim to restore relations between Moscow and Washington, and “so certain events can be viewed in this context", the Times reported.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Kalob Byers Wayne was detained on charges of possession of a small amount of marijuana.
He was detained at Moscow's Vnukovo airport during a baggage check.
Customs officials found cannabis-laced marmalade in his luggage.
The talks aim to restore relations between Moscow and Washington.
The American citizen was released on Monday, ahead of the talks scheduled for Tuesday.
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