The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoli Antonov, threatened to reduce the number of American journalists working in Russia, invoking the principle of reciprocity.
“Yesterday I came [quinta-feira] Keep in mind that there are many more American journalists in Moscow than ours. [nos Estados Unidos]. The Americans have the nice word ‘reciprocity’ they insist on regarding Russian actions,” the diplomat told Russian state television.
Antonov wondered if it wasn’t time to act mutually and “reduce the number of North American journalists working in Moscow and in Russia in general”, to “balance the number of journalists”. [russos] who work in Washington and New York”.
The ambassador’s comments come weeks after the March 29 arrest in Russia of US journalist Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, on espionage charges.
“The Americans have threatened us with countermeasures if we don’t release Gershkovich soon,” Antonov said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the arrest of the American journalist.
“No, this is not the prerogative of the president. This is what the intelligence services do, because they do their job,” Peskov said at a news conference, commenting on reports in the Western media that Putin himself had given the “green light” to the arrest.
Peskov took the opportunity to reiterate that Gershkovich had been “caught in the act” by the Federal Security Service (FSB, formerly KGB).
Also Thursday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Serguei Ryabkov said Moscow may be available to discuss a possible prisoner exchange with the United States involving the 31-year-old Gershkovich. involvement in acts of espionage and demand his immediate release.
Ryabkov, quoted by the state news agency Tass, said talks about a possible prisoner exchange could take place through the special channels that Russian and American security services have set up for these purposes.
“We have a working channel that was used in the past to reach concrete agreements, and these agreements were fulfilled,” Ryabkov recalled, adding that the involvement of a third country is not necessary to mediate the conflict.
Still, the deputy minister stressed that Moscow will only negotiate a possible prisoner exchange after a journalist’s trial, while other espionage cases took a year or more.
In December, American basketball star Brittney Griner was involved in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout after she was tried and convicted of drug charges.
During the Griner affair, the Kremlin repeatedly asked the United States for the White House to use the “special channel” to discuss a solution, with a prisoner exchange.
Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already asked his Russian counterpart, Serguei Lavrov, to release Gershkovich immediately.
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden spoke with Greshkovich’s parents, taking the opportunity to once again publicly condemn the behavior of Russian authorities.
The day before, the Biden administration said Gershkovich had been “unjustly detained,” a clue that means a State Department agency will take the lead in seeking his release.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested Gershkovich on March 29 in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city.
The Wall Street Journal journalist is the first US correspondent to be arrested in Russia for alleged espionage since the end of the Cold War.
The FSB accuses Gershkovich of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.
Gershkovich is being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison.
Source: DN
