Putin reveals ongoing communication between American and Russian officials and journalist Gershkovich.
Russia's President Putin mentioned that American authorities are pressuring him to release a detained Wall Street Journal reporter, but he wouldn't reveal any specifics. He also stressed the importance of keeping the conversations private.
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old journalist, has been housed in Moscow's Lefortovo Prison for over a year. His arrest happened while he was on an assignment in Russia. He's the first Western journalist since the Cold War to be captured there on charges of espionage. Gershkovich asserts his innocence, and both his employer and the US administration are backing him.
Moscow has simply said that the journalist was nabbed red-handed in the city of Yekaterinburg last March. Discussions about a potential prisoner exchange between Russia and the US are already underway. The US claims that Moscow secretly detains its citizens as leverage to free Russian citizens living abroad.
Previously, Putin appeared keen to swap the US journalist for Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced for the Berlin "Tiergarten murder." However, the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny might create complications in the negotiations, as he was also supposed to be part of the deal, a detail that was brought to light not long after Navalny's demise.
