The Kremlin announced today that "contacts" are underway regarding the possible exchange of American journalist Evan Geršković, accused and imprisoned in Russia for espionage for about a year.
"We have emphasized several times that some contacts are ongoing, but they should be conducted with complete silence," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Breaking the silence would only create additional problems and prevent the achievement of any result in the process," Peskov added, without elaborating.
Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich (32), who also worked for France Presse in Moscow between 2020 and 2021, was arrested by the FSB in March 2023 while reporting in Yekaterinburg in the Urals.
He denies the espionage charges he faces and could face up to 20 years in prison. The USA, his newspaper and his relatives also reject the accusations. Russia has never publicly announced the elements of the evidence and the entire process is classified as secret, writes France Press.
Washington accuses Moscow of taking him hostage to exchange him for Russians in prisons in Western countries, as has been done for several American citizens in recent years in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that he was ready to exchange Gershkovich for Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 murder of a Chechen opposition figure in Berlin.
This week, the Russian court extended Geršković's detention until June 30.
Peskov said today that he has no information about the possible start date of the American journalist's trial.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously announced that it could consider the exchange only after the verdict in the trial of the journalist, reports the AP agency.
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