German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with the Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was released from a Russian prison last month during the exchange of prisoners between the East and the West, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
"I admire the strength and courage of Vladimir Kara-Murza and his tireless commitment to Russia's democratic future," the chancellor said on the "X" platform. "We secured his release during the prisoner exchange in August and today I had the opportunity to speak with him at length," Scholz added after their meeting in Berlin.
Kara-Murza is one of more than 20 detainees who were released in early August in a prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Germany and other Western countries. After his release, he traveled to Germany for the first time. Later, US President Joe Biden met with him in Washington.
Kara-Murza is one of the Kremlin's most prominent critics. In April 2023, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Russia on charges of treason.
"The August 1 prisoner exchange showed that the free world cares and that, contrary to stereotype, there is still room for decency and values in international politics," Kara-Murza wrote last month in the "Washington Post" newspaper. "We must not allow this to become an exception and we must not rest until the others who are unjustly imprisoned because of Putin's dictatorship come home and reunite with their families," he added.