Kremlin declines to comment on possible prisoner swap for Evan Gershkovich

By Reuters 19 July 2024, 1:38 pm 2 Edit

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the First Appeals Court of General Jurisdiction in Moscow, Russia, April 23, 2024. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

The Kremlin declines to comment on the possibility of a prisoner swap with the United States involving detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

A Russian court unexpectedly said earlier today that it will pronounce its verdict in the espionage trial of Gershkovich within hours after state prosecutors demanded he be jailed for 18 years for spying.

When asked by Reuters if an exchange deal involving Gershkovich was possible, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says: “I’ll leave your question unanswered.”

Speaking earlier on a different subject, Peskov said there is practically no dialogue with the Biden administration at the moment.