Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that any deal to free Evan Gershkovich, the American journalist jailed in Russia on espionage charges, would have to be mutually beneficial for Moscow.
Gershkovich, who reports for The Wall Street Journal, has been jailed in Russia since March 2023 on spying charges that he, his employer and the U.S. government vehemently deny. The State Department has also declared him wrongfully detained.
Speaking Wednesday, Putin also said that Washington has been pushing hard for Gershkovich’s release.
“I know the United States administration is indeed taking vigorous steps to free him,” Putin told reporters in St. Petersburg. “But such issues are not resolved through the media. They like a quiet, calm, professional approach and dialogue between intelligence agencies. And, of course, they should be resolved only on the basis of reciprocity.”
Moscow and Washington have been discussing a possible prisoner exchange over the past few months, but the Russian government has said momentum decreased lately after saying the U.S. government was ignoring its proposals.
Putin has previously indicated he may want to trade Gershkovich, 32, for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian man jailed in Germany as an assassin for Moscow.
One day earlier, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution calling for Gershkovich’s immediate release.
“Evan Gershkovich has been in jail for over a year for simply doing his job,” said Senator Jim Risch, who sponsored the resolution.
The resolution “demonstrates Congress’ commitment to bringing Evan, and all Americans wrongfully detained in Russia, home safely,” Risch, a Republican from Idaho, added in his statement.
The resolution, however, did not mention the second American journalist currently jailed in Russia: Alsu Kurmasheva, 47.
The dual U.S.-Russian national, who works at VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, has been jailed in Russia since October 2023 on charges of failing to register as a so-called “foreign agent” and spreading what Moscow views as false information about the Russian military.
Kurmasheva and her employer reject the charges against her, which carry a combined sentence of up to 15 years. The U.S. government has also called for Kurmasheva’s immediate release.
On Wednesday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen called for Kurmasheva to be declared wrongfully detained.
“It’s past time that Alsu is designated as wrongfully detained so the U.S. can work to secure her release and reunite her with her husband and children,” Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said in a post on social media platform X.
Press freedom groups have criticized the State Department for not yet declaring Kurmasheva wrongfully detained, which would open up additional resources to help secure her release and commit the U.S. government to work for her freedom.
“The Department of State continuously reviews the circumstances surrounding the detentions of U.S. nationals overseas, including those in Russia, for indicators that they are wrongful,” a State Department spokesperson previously told VOA.
Russia’s Washington embassy did not immediately reply to a VOA email requesting comment.
