Russia has freed imprisoned French researcher Laurent Vinatier in exchange for a Russian basketball player held in France and wanted in the United States for alleged ties to a computer hacking group.
The swap on January 8 comes after recent signals between Moscow and Paris indicated the two countries were seeking to re-establish ties that had been severely strained by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"Our compatriot Laurent Vinatier is free and back in France," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.
"I share the relief felt by his family and loved ones."
A Moscow court sentenced Vinatier in October 2024 to three years in prison on charges spying and for failing to register as a foreign agent.
Russian investigators claimed he pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining information about the Russian military. After his plea was entered -- France had denied he was a spy -- investigators dropped the espionage charges.
Russia's FSB security service said Vinatier had been "pardoned" by presidential decree.
Vinatier is an adviser for the Geneva-based Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a nonprofit conflict-resolution organization, and "travels regularly for his work," according to his employer.
In exchange for the Frenchman, Paris agreed to release 26-year-old basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who arrested by France last June at a Paris airport at the request of the United States, where he is accused him of having allegedly taken part in a ransomware hacking ring.
He has denied the charge.
