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Dmitry Serebryakov/AP
MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin on Tuesday held the door open for contacts with the U.S. relating to a potential prisoner trade that would doubtlessly contain jailed Wall Road Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, however reaffirmed that such talks should 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 expenses of espionage, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in U.S. custody on cybercrime expenses, might doubtlessly herald a prisoner swap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow and Washington have touched on the difficulty.
“We’ve stated that there have been sure contacts on the topic, however we do not need them to be mentioned in public,” Peskov stated in a convention name with reporters. “They should be carried out and proceed in full silence.”
He did not provide any additional particulars, however added that “the lawful proper to consular contacts should 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 situations. 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 assist the espionage expenses.
Gershkovich is the primary American reporter to face espionage expenses 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 expenses.
Dunaev was extradited from South Korea on the U.S. cybercrime expenses 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 pinnacle of the Russian Embassy’s consular part, stated in remarks carried by the Tass information company.
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