USA: State Dept. thank Russia for securing US journalist’s release from Syria

SOT, Mark Toner, US State Department spokesperson (English): "Again, without speaking in great detail about individual cases, I would say we welcome Russia's support whatever we get in terms of ascertaining, or getting the release of any Americans or help, detained in Syria."
Spokesperson for the US State Department Mark Toner hailed Russia's role in the release of a US citizen from Syria during his Washington DC press briefing, Friday. The individual in question has been confirmed as photo-journalist Kevin Dawes by the Russian Foreign Ministry, despite Toner's refusal to affirm the journalist's identity.
"We are appreciative of efforts on the part of the Russian government that it undertook on behalf of this US citizen in Syria" said Toner, also thanking the Czech government for its apparent role in the transfer.
Despite Toner's reluctance to give specifics on the case, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement, Friday, saying that Dawes was flown from Syria to Moscow on Russian military transport, where he was later reportedly transferred to the US embassy. Toner confirmed that the US citizen was no longer in Syria, with Moscow stating that the individual had since left the country.
Dawes had been listed by the FBI as missing since 2012 before his name's removal from the bureau's missing person's website on Friday. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson has since confirmed that Dawes was detained for illegal entry into Syria among other offenses, calling on the US to appreciate his release as a gesture of goodwill from Damascus.