Vladimir Putin, during a live conference combined with a direct line, answered a question from a New York Times journalist about the exchange of Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia.
“If his detention was extended, it was done by court decision. So to say that this is without trial is incorrect. As for the possible extradition of these citizens to their homeland. You say why don't they return to their homeland. Why shouldn't they commit offenses on the territory of the Russian Federation? This is all rhetoric. It's not that we refused to return them. We don't refuse. We want to reach an agreement, and these agreements must be mutually acceptable and must suit both parties. We have contacts with our American partners on this matter. And there is a dialogue on this matter. It’s not easy, but overall, it seems to me that we speak a language that each other understands. I hope we find a solution. I repeat that the American side must listen to us and make an appropriate decision that suits the Russian side as well. Humanitarian considerations must certainly form the basis of these decisions,” the president said.
Gershkovich was detained on March 29 in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage (Article 276 of the Criminal Code). The next day, a court in Moscow sent him to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. Today the arrest was extended until January 30.
The FSB claims that the journalist “on instructions from the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
Meduza wrote that Gershkovich visited Nizhny Tagil, where Uralvagonzavod, which produces tanks, is located. In addition, as Vyacheslav Wegner, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Region, said, the reporter asked him about the attitude of Russians towards the Wagner PMC and the work of military factories.
According to the US authorities, Gershkovich was arrested in Russia illegally.