Russia ‘ready to talk’ about Gershkovich release, Putin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is “ready to talk” with Washington about the release of imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

“There is no taboo to settle this issue. We are willing to solve it,” Putin said in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday night. “I believe an agreement can be reached.”

The Kremlin has previously signaled that it is open to a prisoner swap with the United States for Gershkovich and that the two countries are in contact over the journalist’s potential release. But Putin’s commentary on the case Thursday was rare, as the Kremlin often conveys messages through spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Putin explained his government’s rationale for detaining Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges in March 2023. The journalist was “caught red-handed” while obtaining confidential information, the Kremlin leader said.

“The person gets secret information and does that in a conspiratorial manner, then this is qualified as espionage. And that is exactly what he was doing. He was receiving classified confidential information,” Putin said.

Moscow has provided no evidence that Gershkovich was spying on Russia during his time in the country. The Wall Street Journal has denied that Gershkovich was spying, and the Biden administration has called for his release.

Putin stressed that Gershkovich didn't have to be a spy to run afoul of Russia's espionage rules: “He's not just a journalist, I reiterate, he's a journalist who was secretly getting confidential information.”

The Kremlin leader added that there's an “ongoing dialogue” for Gershkovich’s release and said it “doesn’t make any sense to keep him in prison in Russia … we are ready to talk, moreover, the talks are on their way.”

Gershkovich’s detention continues a string of Americans jailed in Russia since the war with Ukraine began, most notably with WNBA player Brittney Griner’s detention on drug charges in 2022. She was released in an exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout almost a year later.