The Kremlin is open to discussions over a potential prisoner swap for detained Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich report says

The Kremlin has expressed openness to a potential prisoner swap that could involve Evan Gershkovich.
Gershkovich, a WSJ reporter, was detained by Russian officials in March on suspicion of espionage.
The Journal and the US government have vehemently denied the allegations against Gershkovich.

Russia on Tuesday held the door open for a potential talks with the United States regarding a possible prisoner exchange that could involve detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

"There are certain contacts in this regard, but we do not want to make them public in any way," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a briefing with journalists, according to The Journal. "They must continue in complete silence."

Peskov then said that "the lawful right to consular contacts must be ensured on both sides."

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American correspondent who was accredited to work as a journalist by the Russian Foreign Ministry, was detained by Russian authorities in the city of Yekaterinburg — about 1,100 miles east of Moscow — on March 29.

Russia's internal security service at the time said that it had detained Gershkovich, accusing him of "espionage in the interests of the American government."

The Journal has vehemently the allegations and has demanded that Gershkovich be released.

President Joe Biden has expressed his firm commitment in working to return Gershkovich to the US, with the administration classifying him as a wrongfully detained citizen.

"Evan went to Russia to shed light on the darkness that you all escaped from, years ago," Biden told Gershkovich's parents during the White House correspondents dinner in April. "Absolute courage … to the entire family, everyone in this hall stands with you. We're working every day to secure his release."

The US has told the Kremlin that Gershkovich is not a spy and is not a government official.

Roger Carstens, the special envoy for hostage affairs, said last month that the US has continued to press the Russian government for Gershkovich's release, but reiterated that officials at the Kremlin weren't readily willing to speak about the situation.

"He's not a spy. We've been very clear with that with the Russians. The Russians, however, have been playing a tough game," Carstens said during the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, according to the Journal. "They're not willing to really talk to us about him yet."

A US State Department spokesperson on Tuesday didn't provide additional details to the Journal on any potential talks, pointing to its work to free Gershkovich, along with that of Paul Whelan — a former US Marine serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on espionage charges that the US considers to be politically motivated.

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