The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had “some contacts” with the United States regarding imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovich, in response to a question about a possible prisoner swap between the two countries.
On Monday, US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy was allowed to visit Gershkovich in prison after she refused his visit requests for more than two months.
Russian state media reported that on Monday Russian consular officials were allowed to visit Vladimir Dunaev, an alleged cybercriminal extradited by South Korea to the United States, who is currently in custody.
Asked if the coincidence of the two visits is an indication of a possible prisoner exchange plan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There are contacts on this subject, but we do not want them to become public anytime soon.” All. They must occur and communicate in complete silence.”
He did not provide further information, saying only that “the right of access to consulates must be respected by both parties.”
Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 during a journalistic trip to the Urals.
Gershkovich, formerly of Agence France-Presse, became the first Western journalist to be arrested by Moscow on charges of espionage since Soviet times amid a sharp deterioration in relations due to the war in Ukraine.
The United States, The Wall Street Journal, and Gershkovich himself vehemently denied allegations of espionage.
In December, Russia released basketball star Britney Grainer, convicted of drug possession, in exchange for the release of Viktor Bout, who is imprisoned in the United States on weapons smuggling charges.
