Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss the release of US-Israeli citizen Naama Issachar during a visit to Israel on Thursday with her mother and Israel's prime minister, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Wednesday.
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Issachar was sentenced by a Russian court to seven and a half years in jail for drug offenses in October, but Israeli officials believe Russian authorities were using her case as leverage in order to get Israel to make concessions.
In return for clemency, Russia is apparently want Israel to make various Israeli gestures involving the treatment of Russian tourists in Israel or possibly grant it special rights to sites in Jerusalem that Moscow has long claimed ownership over.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly asked about her release and (Israeli President Reuven) Rivlin sent a letter. This humanitarian aspect of the issue will be discussed at the meeting," Ushakov said.
He also said that Putin may briefly meet US Vice President Mike Pence and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of a Holocaust memorial event on Thursday.
