The heads of US diplomacy and the Russian Federation, Antony Blinken and Sergei Lavrov, spoke by telephone this Sunday about the situation of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia last week.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday that it is unacceptable for Washington to politicize the case of the Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested and charged with espionage in Russia.
According to Reuters, the Russian Foreign Ministry revealed that Lavrov told Blinken in a phone call that Gershkovich’s fate would be decided by a court.. And he reiterated Russia’s claim that the journalist had been detained “red-handed” last week, although no evidence has been provided so far.
“Blinken’s attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities, taken in accordance with the law and international obligations of the Russian Federation,” the ministry, led by Lavrov, said.
The US Secretary of State, on the other hand, called for the journalist’s “immediate release” and “conveyed the serious concern of the United States at the unacceptable detention”. spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement quoted by AFP, adding that the top US diplomat had also urged Moscow to release another detained American, Paul Whelan.
The Russian side “emphasized that it is unacceptable that the authorities in Washington and the Western media are making a fuss with the clear intention of giving a political tone to this matter.”
Russia’s FSB security service said Thursday it had arrested Gershkovich and charged him with collecting state secret information about a Russian defense company.
The Wall Street Journal vehemently denied that Gershkovich engaged in espionage. The White House called the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, “ridiculous”.
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Source: DN
