Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held a phone call on April 2, the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry reported. The main issue was the arrest of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested this week on suspicion of espionage.
“Blinken’s attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities taken in accordance with the law and the international obligations of the Russian Federation. The inadmissibility of creating incidents with the clear intent to give this case a political color has been stressed by officials in Washington and the Western media,” the message reads.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the meeting took place on the initiative of the American side.
During the meeting, Lavrov specifically noted that Gershkovich was caught red-handed while trying to obtain confidential information, and that he was also collecting confidential information under the guise of journalism.
“In the light of established facts regarding the illegal activities of a US citizen whose detention was reported to the US Embassy in Moscow in accordance with the established procedure, his future fate will be determined by the court,” the State Department said.
Blinken responded by saying that during his meeting with Lavrov he demanded the release of the American journalist.
“Today I expressed with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov our deep concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a US citizen and journalist.
On Twitter, the Secretary of State called for his release and the illegally detained US citizen Paul Whelan.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has worked in Russia for over six years, was detained by FSB officers in Yekaterinburg on March 29.
According to the intelligence service, Gershkovich collected information, which is state secret, about one of the enterprises of the military-industrial complex in the Sverdlovsk region. The journalist’s acquaintances claim that he prepared a material about the attitude of residents towards PMC Wagner and its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin. It is known that he also visited Nizhny Tagil during the information gathering process.
Deputy of the Sverdlovsk Legislative Assembly, Vyacheslav Wegner, with whom Gershkovich spoke, said that after the start of a special operation in Ukraine, he was really interested both in the activities of the PMCs and in the redirection of the Ural enterprises.
“Unfortunately, it is not the first time that foreign correspondent status, journalism visa and accreditation are used by foreigners in our country to cover up non-journalistic activities. Not the first prominent Westerner to be ‘handicapped’,
– said Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Ministry.
Gershkovich was transferred to Moscow. On April 30, the Lefortovo court sent him to remand for two months. The materials of the criminal case are classified. The journalist himself denied his guilt. A number of Telegram channels and media have suggested that the journalist could be used to exchange with Russians who are under investigation or imprisoned in the US. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation denied this information. They added that Russian visas for foreign journalists are issued as before.
Following Gershkovich’s arrest, Blinken, and later White House coordinator John Kirby, urged American journalists and other U.S. citizens who are in or working in Russia to leave the country. And those who were to visit him were advised to abandon their plans.
Washington condemned “the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, suppress and punish journalists and members of civil society.” The Foreign Ministry said it requested consular access for Gershkovich, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was granted.