Putin says he hopes for swaps for detained Americans
December 14, 2023
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he hoped there could be prisoner swaps between Moscow and Washington in the cases of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich and US Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who are both in prison in Russia on charges of spying.
The US government says the men are being wrongfully detained and has denied all espionage charges against them.
Putin's comments came as a Moscow court rejected an appeal by Gershkovich to leave his pretrial detention, upholding a ruling to detain him until January 30.
What did Putin say?
In answer to a question from a New York Times reporter at an annual press conference, Putin said: "We want to reach an agreement (with the US), and these agreements must be mutually acceptable and must suit both parties."
"It is not simple; I will not go into details now," the president said.
"But, in general, it seems to me that we speak a language that is understandable to each other. I hope we will find a solution. But, I repeat, the American side must hear us and make an appropriate decision, one that suits the Russian side," he added.
In an exchange on December 8, 2022, Russia traded Brittney Griner, an American basketball player arrested on drugs charges for carrying a tiny quantity of medicinal cannabis, for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer.
On that occasion, Russia refused to hand over Whelan, who had been part of negotiations.
Who are Gershkovich and Whelan?
Gershkovich, 32, was the Wall Street Journal correspondent in Moscow at the time of his arrest at the end of March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.
He is the first Western reporter to be held on spying charges in Russia since the Soviet era.
He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Whelan, 53, was arrested in 2018 on allegations that he was spying for the United States. He was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
He was working as a security director for an automotive parts firm at the time of his arrest.
tj/lo (AP, AFP, Reuters)