President Donald Trump has agreed to release the Russian nationals who were aboard a recently seized oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

"In response to our request, US President Donald Trump decided to release two Russian citizens from the crew of the Mariner tanker, which was previously detained by the US side during an operation in the North Atlantic," Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
"
We welcome this decision and express our gratitude to the U.S. leadership."

The Russian nationals were taken into custody during the seizure of the Bella 1, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker that had been flying the flag of Guyana but flew the Russian tricolor mid-voyage.

Moscow has insisted that the ship had its permission to fly the flag and has criticized the seizure of the vessel.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.