欢迎斯蒂芬·哈伯德回家，这位退休的美国教师自2022年起被弗拉基米尔·普京囚禁。特朗普总统周三表示，普京在特朗普总统个人恳求后释放了哈伯德，俄罗斯方面没有提出任何回报要求。
A happy welcome home to Stephen Hubbard, the retired American teacher imprisoned by Vladimir Putin since 2022. President Trump said Wednesday that Mr. Putin freed Mr. Hubbard after the U.S. President made a personal plea, and the Russian asked nothing in return.
但没有理由对普京心存感激，他将西方人质作为国家治理的一部分。他抓捕某人，捏造虚假指控，在操纵的法庭程序中定罪，然后在合适的时机释放或交换一人或多人。
But there is no cause to be grateful to Mr. Putin, who takes Western hostages as part of his statecraft. He grabs someone, levels phony charges, convicts him in a rigged court proceeding, then releases or trades one or more at opportune moments.