Russian Federation and Estonia exchanged two men accused of espionage at a remote border post, in an episode reminiscent of a Cold War spy thriller.
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“There were negotiations, long negotiations, between institutions and the conclusion was that there would be an exchange”, Estonian Interior Minister Hanno Pevkur told journalists after welcoming Kohver back home.
Estonian officials confirmed the swap, which took place at a bridge over the Piusa River in a forested border region located a few kilometres south of Lake Peipus.
According to Interfax, which broke the news, the prisoners were swapped at the Russian-Estonian border in southeastern Estonia.
The exchange comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to address the UN General Assembly on September 28.
On September 10, European Union lawmakers urged Russian Federation to release Kohver, along with Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and civil activist Oleksandr Kolchenko, calling their detentions a “blatant violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Estonia through the illegal kidnapping of citizens of both countries”.
“I am able to be apartment again”, said Kohver, looking good in addition to separating pranks after talking to his significant other by phone. He was sentenced to 16 years for treason.
“I thank Eston for not giving up at this hard time”, Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas said in a statement.
Russia’s secret service is reported to have claimed Dressen worked for Russian counter-intelligence since the 1990s, handing over information about U.S. and British spies working in the Baltic countries.
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Dressen was arrested at Tallinn airport along with his wife as he waited to board a plane to Moscow carrying what prosecutors described as classified documents.
