World

Russia says there are ‘certain contacts’ with U.S. on detained U.S. reporter Gershkovich

2023.07.04 19:35


© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March while on a reporting trip and accused of espionage, stands behind a glass wall of an enclosure for defendants before a court hearing to consider an appeal against his det

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Tuesday that there were “certain contacts” with the United States over the case of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but that it did not want to make them public.

The Kremlin made the remark a day after U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy was allowed to visit Gershkovich in a Moscow prison for only the second time. Hours later, the Russian embassy in Moscow said its staff had visited Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian national who is in pre-trial detention in Ohio on cybercrime charges.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked at his daily briefing if the timing of the two visits indicated that a negotiating process was under way.

“We said that there are certain contacts on this matter, but we do not want to make them public, they must be carried out and continued in complete silence. As for the legal right to consular contacts, this right, of course, must be ensured on both sides,” Peskov said.

Russia accuses Gershkovich of espionage, something he denies.

Russia has agreed in the past to high-profile prisoner exchanges with the United States, most recently last year when American basketball star Brittney Griner, sentenced in Russia on a drug charge, was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms trafficker convicted in the United States.

Russia has said there could be no exchange involving Gershkovich until a verdict is reached in his case. No date has so far been announced for his trial.

Washington has said it is committed to bringing home Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine who is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage. He too has denied the accusations, and Washington has designated both men as “wrongfully detained”.

“While we unfortunately do not have a breakthrough to share, we continue to pursue every avenue to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan,” a White House official said on Tuesday.

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 67,878.19 0.83%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,427.21 0.96%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.999816 0.02%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 555.30 0.02%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 161.62 0.20%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.07%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.509763 1.93%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,426.94 0.97%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.158567 7.71%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.163879 0.26%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.79 0.51%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.326159 2.12%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,878.03 0.70%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 67,847.18 0.65%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000017 1.63%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 23.12 0.49%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,425.45 1.05%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 335.99 1.08%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 10.35 3.70%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.07%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.04 1.37%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 3.78 0.20%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 1.89 2.04%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 66.58 0.38%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 3.63 0.60%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,552.57 0.97%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 8.09 0.56%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.85 1.87%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000008 0.45%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.13 0.41%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.00 0.06%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 423.72 1.71%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 161.47 2.79%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.13 1.38%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.05%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.091476 1.04%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 18.87 0.18%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 17.76 0.16%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.10282 5.73%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 1.00 0.61%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 37.53 0.40%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.293599 2.61%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.47 1.31%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.03 0.47%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.34 0.64%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 129.16 1.87%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.070993 0.27%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.478031 0.13%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.556006 0.56%
celestia
Celestia (TIA) $ 4.40 2.12%