Putin greeted children of 2 Russian spies in Spanish as they were unaware of their nationality: Kremlin

As Russia and the West conducted a historic prisoner exchange, the Kremlin said that the children of two Russian intelligence agents who were among the detainees freed in the deal, only discovered their nationality when they were being flown to Moscow.

Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, who were the parents of the children, were among 24 prisoners swapped as a part of the multi-country deal that also saw the release of several high-profile American and Russian detainees. Kremlin said that the pair was posing as an Argentine couple in Slovenia, where they were convicted of spying. The two children eventually flew back to Moscow with their parents from Turkey, CNN reported.

“The boy and girl found out that they were Russian only when the plane took off from Ankara,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday. The Russian spokesperson also revealed that the country’s President Vladimir Putin greeted them in Spanish as they didn’t speak Russian.

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Interestingly, these children didn’t even know who Putin was. “When the children came down the plane’s steps – they don’t speak Russian – and Putin greeted them in Spanish, he said ‘Buenas noches,’” Peskov recalled. “They asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them, they didn’t even know who Putin was,” he added.

About the Dultsevas 

When the couple came out of the aircraft, Anna Dultseva hugged Putin while holding her tears. Putin welcomed the family by standing on the red carpet rolled on the tarmac holding bouquets. The Russian leader kissed Dultseva on the cheek and shoulder and gave her and her daughter the bouquets.

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The couple pleaded guilty to espionage in a court in Ljubljana on Wednesday and were sentenced to serve time in prison. During the trials, the court found more details about their family’s undercover life. Dultsev posed as an IT businessman named Ludvig Gisch. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to more than a year and a half in prison, which the court said was equivalent to time spent.

After serving his prison sentence, the Russian spy was set to be deported to Russia and was banned from entering Solvenia for five years. Meanwhile, Dultseva posed as an art dealer and gallery owner and went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos. She was also asked to be deported.

During the press briefing, Peskov also touched upon the fate of Russians who are still serving sentences in prison abroad. Peskov said that “the fate of all our Russians who are held in custody abroad, in the United States, is a matter of constant concern for all our relevant agencies, which will continue the relevant work.”