Russia rules out prisoner swap talks before verdict in reporter’s case

by Stephen Neukam - 04/13/23 10:36 AM ET

FILE – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by officers from the Lefortovsky court to a bus, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 30, 2023. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated his call for Russia to immediately release Gershkovich on Wednesday at NATO headquarters following two days of talks among the alliance’s foreign ministers. Russia accuses Gershkovich of espionage, a claim Americans deny. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russia may be willing to discuss a prisoner swap for detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but only after a Russian court issues a verdict on the allegation that he was working as a spy, a top Russian diplomat said Thursday.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russia’s state-run news agency Tass that talks about a potential prisoner swap “can be examined only after a court delivers its verdict.”

The case of Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia on allegations of spying last month, has made national headlines, with the White House, lawmakers, his family and media outlets pushing for his swift release. The U.S. has repeatedly denied the allegations that Gershkovich was working as a spy.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Russian counterpart to immediately release Gershkovich in a rare conversation between the two officials last week.

Ryabkov said any negotiations for a prisoner swap would go through a channel that Russian and U.S. officials have established for such talks, noting that his country was not interested in allowing other countries to enter the negotiations.

“We are absolutely not interested in this,” Ryabkov said. “We have a functioning channel, in the past it was used to reach specific agreements; these agreements have been implemented so third countries don’t play a part here.”

The U.S. government declared Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” earlier this week, which opens the way for a robust inter-agency effort to secure his release.

Reports also emerged this week that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the reporter’s arrest.

The U.S. and Russia in December agreed to a prisoner swap that freed women’s basketball star Brittney Griner from Russian custody last year in exchange for a notorious Russian arms dealer who was imprisoned in America.

Officials have also been working to secure the release of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on allegations of spying. He was handed a 16-year prison sentence in 2020.