Putin hopes for Russia-US deal on detained Americans

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he wanted Moscow and Washington to arrive at a solution to secure the release of two high-profile Americans held by Moscow on espionage charges.

Putin was responding to a question from reporters during an end-of-year press conference, referring to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan.

“There are contacts on this issue and dialogue is ongoing, but it’s not straightforward,” he said.

“I hope we will find a solution. But the US side should also hear us and make a decision that will suit the Russian Federation.”

The US State Department responded by saying Russia so far has refused all US offers for the release of Gershkovich and Whelan and calling on Putin to negotiate in good faith.

“There is one significant offer that we made as recently as a few weeks ago,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters, adding that offers had been “rejected every time” by Russia.

Miller said the United States “would welcome them negotiating in good faith. We would welcome them engaging seriously with us.”

Putin’s comments came just after a court in Moscow ruled that Gershkovich, arrested in March, be held in detention until January 30.

The 32-year-old American reporter, his employer and the US government have all rejected the spying allegations.

“Evan Gershkovich will remain in custody until January 30, 2024,” the Moscow city court said in a statement on social media, turning down an appeal lodged late last month.

A video released by the court showed Gershkovich, who previously worked for AFP, standing in a cage for defendants during Thursday’s hearing, smiling and wearing a dark sweater.

Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip at the end of March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, becoming the first Western reporter to be held on spying charges in Russia since the Soviet era.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The US ambassador in Russia, Lynne Tracy, on Thursday called on Moscow to release Gershkovich and said it was “unacceptable that Russian authorities have chosen to use him as a political pawn.”

Whelan was working in security for a US vehicle parts company when he was arrested in Moscow in 2018, and he has always asserted that spying evidence against him was falsified.

The 53-year-old is serving a 16-year sentence that the US government says is without merit.

“As the holidays approach, our thoughts are with Evan and Paul Whelan, as well as their families, friends, and colleagues,” Tracy said.

“Both of these men deserve to be at home with their families. As my government has said countless times, the charges against Evan and Paul are baseless.”

Russia this month also brought fresh charges against US-Russian dual citizen Alsu Kurmasheva, arrested in the central city of Kazan in October and charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent.”

Her employer Radio Free Europe/Liberty (RFE/RL) this week denounced the fresh charges filed against her after reports she has also been accused of violating rules against criticism of the Ukraine campaign.