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Russian President Vladimir Putin did not order the arrest of “The Wall Street Journal” correspondent Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia for alleged espionage, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Thursday.
“No, this is not a prerogative of the president. This is what the intelligence services do, they do their job, ”he said in his daily press conference, commenting on the information that appeared in the Western media that it was Putin himself who gave the green light to the arrest.
Peskov took the opportunity to reiterate that Gershkovich was caught “red-handed” by the Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB). For his part, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Riabkov, referred to the information shuffled by Western media, which points to the possibility of an exchange of prisoners between Russia and the United States, such as the exchange of the Russian arms dealer Víktor But by American basketball player Brittney Griner last December.
“The issue of an exchange can only be studied after a court issues a sentence,” he said, noting that it is not worth comparing different situations, since “this is incorrect from a formal point of view.”
Riabkov accused the WSJ of “stirring up tensions on this every day” and noted that between Russia and the US “there is a special channel for that, that is what the intelligence services deal with and will continue to deal with that in the future.”
On April 7, the FSB formally accused the American journalist of espionage, arrested on March 29 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
The reporter’s lawyers have appealed his detention, while dozens of independent Russian journalists wrote a letter demanding his release and calling the charge of espionage gratuitous under article 276 of the penal code, a charge that carries up to 20 years in prison.
Both the White House and The Wall Street Journal have denied the Russian security forces’ accusations against their correspondent and have demanded his immediate release.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
