Possibility of Prisoner Exchange Involving Jailed US Journalist Evan Gershkovich Discussed by Kremlin

The Kremlin, on Tuesday, indicated its willingness to communicate with the U.S. over a potential prisoner exchange. This swap may possibly involve Evan Gershkovich, a detained Wall Street Journal reporter. However, the Russian government emphasized that these discussions should occur away from the public sphere.

In response to queries if the recent consular visits to Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Moscow on espionage charges since March, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in U.S. detention for cybercrime, might be precursors to a prisoner swap, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, noted that the topic has been broached between Moscow and Washington.

Peskov explained in a conference call with journalists, “While there have been preliminary discussions on the matter, we would prefer to keep these out of the public domain. They should progress and persist in total confidentiality.”

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Without providing further specifics, Peskov emphasized, “The legitimate right to consular contacts should be guaranteed reciprocally.”

Lynne Tracy, the U.S. Ambassador to Moscow, was permitted to visit Gershkovich on Monday, marking her first visit since April. More information was not immediately available from the U.S. Embassy.

Gershkovich, 31, was apprehended in Yekaterinburg during a reporting assignment in Russia and is currently housed at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, infamous for its severe conditions. Last week, a Moscow court decided to extend his custody until Aug. 30.

Both Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal refute the allegations against him. The U.S. government has labeled his detention as wrongful. The incident has caused unrest among Russian journalists as the authorities have yet to substantiate the espionage charges with evidence.

Gershkovich is the first U.S. journalist facing espionage charges in Russia since Nicholas Daniloff, a U.S. News and World Report Moscow correspondent, was arrested by the KGB in September 1986. Daniloff was freed 20 days later in an exchange for a Soviet Union’s U.N. mission employee, also accused of espionage, who was taken into custody by the FBI.

Dunaev, extradited from South Korea to face U.S. cybercrime charges, is currently in detention in Ohio. Russian diplomats were granted consular access to him for the first time since his 2021 arrest, according to Nadezhda Shumova, the head of the Russian Embassy’s consular section, in a statement covered by the Tass news agency.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Prisoner Swap

More about Prisoner Swap

• Wall Street Journal – Evan Gershkovich
• Kremlin spokesperson’s statement on prisoner exchange
• Detention of Evan Gershkovich in Moscow
• US government’s response to Evan Gershkovich’s detention
• Prisoner exchange history between the US and Russia