Russia’s Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State Discuss Gershkovich Case in Telephone Call
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone on April 2, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The call centered on the detention of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested earlier that week on espionage charges.
During the conversation, officials stressed the importance of all Russian decisions being made in accordance with the law and Russia’s international commitments. They also underscored that attempts to politicize the case and create incidents around it were unacceptable, a message that Washington and Western media were reminded of in response to coverage of the issue.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the discussion occurred at the invitation of the American side.
Lavrov reminded the interlocutors that Gershkovich had been caught in the act of attempting to obtain confidential information. He also stated that the journalist was gathering sensitive data under the cover of journalism.
The State Department replied that based on the established facts regarding the unlawful actions of a US citizen, whose detention had been reported to the US Embassy in Moscow through the proper procedures, Gershkovichs’s future would be decided by the court in accordance with the law.
In response, Blinken said that he urged Lavrov to secure the journalist’s release during their meeting. He expressed deep concern over what he called Russia’s unacceptable detention of a US citizen and journalist.
On social media, Blinken also called for the release of Paul Whelan, another American national detained abroad.
Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter with more than six years in Russia, was detained by the FSB in Yekaterinburg on March 29. Intelligence officials claimed the journalist gathered information classified as state secrets about a military industrial enterprise in the Sverdlovsk region. Acquaintances of Gershkovich suggested he was researching public opinion on the private military company Wagner and its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and he is believed to have visited Nizhny Tagil during the information gathering period.
Vyacheslav Wegner, a deputy in the Sverdlovsk Legislative Assembly who spoke with Gershkovich, noted that after the Ukraine operation began, Gershkovich showed interest in PMCs and the direction of actions by Ural enterprises.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, commented that foreigners often use journalist status, visas, and accreditation to conceal nonjournalistic activities. She warned that prominent Western figures could face hindrance in their activities inside Russia.
Gershkovich was moved to Moscow, and on April 30 the Lefortovo Court ordered a two-month remand. The case file remains classified. The journalist has denied the charges. Some Telegram channels and media outlets have floated theories about possible exchanges involving Russians under investigation or in custody in the United States, but the Russian Foreign Ministry has dismissed these claims and reaffirmed that Russian visas for foreign journalists remain in place.
Following Gershkovich’s arrest, Blinken and later White House coordinator John Kirby urged American journalists and other US citizens in Russia to leave the country or avoid travel there. Washington condemned what it described as the Kremlin’s ongoing efforts to intimidate, suppress, and penalize journalists and civil society members. The Russian Foreign Ministry said consular access for Gershkovich had been requested and subsequently granted, as reported by the ministry.