The Kremlin on Tuesday held the door open for contacts with the U.S. relating to a doable prisoner change that might probably contain jailed Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, however reaffirmed that such talks have to be held out of the general public eye.
Requested whether or not Monday’s consular visits to Gershkovich, who has been held behind bars in Moscow since March on fees of espionage, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in U.S. custody on cybercrime fees, might probably herald a prisoner swap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned that Moscow and Washington have touched on the difficulty.
“Now we have mentioned that there have been sure contacts on the topic, however we don’t need them to be mentioned in public,” Peskov mentioned in a convention name with reporters. “They have to be carried out and proceed in full silence.”
He didn’t supply any additional particulars, however added that “the lawful proper to consular contacts have to be ensured on either side.”
The U.S. Ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, on Monday was allowed to go to Gershkovich for the primary time since April. The U.S. Embassy didn’t instantly present extra data.
The 31-year-old Gershkovich was arrested within the metropolis of Yekaterinburg whereas on a reporting journey to Russia. He’s being held at Moscow’s Lefortovo jail, infamous for its harsh circumstances. A Moscow court docket final week upheld a ruling to maintain him in custody till Aug. 30.
Gershkovich and his employer deny the allegations, and the U.S. authorities declared him to be wrongfully detained. His arrest rattled journalists in Russia the place authorities haven’t offered any proof to help the espionage fees.
Gershkovich is the primary American reporter to face espionage fees in Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. Information and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Daniloff was launched 20 days later in a swap for an worker of the Soviet Union’s U.N. mission who was arrested by the FBI, additionally on spying fees.
Dunaev was extradited from South Korea on the U.S. cybercrime fees and is in detention in Ohio. Russian diplomats had been granted consular entry to him on Monday for the primary time since his arrest in 2021, Nadezhda Shumova, the top of the Russian Embassy’s consular part, mentioned in remarks carried by the Tass information company.
