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US President Joe Biden. Photo/REUTERS
WASHINGTON – President of the United States (US) Joe Biden has urged Russia to release Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in the city of Ekaterinburg this week on suspicion of espionage.
At the same time, Biden rejected the newspaper’s calls to expel Russian journalists and Moscow’s ambassador in Washington as a retaliatory move.
Biden spoke briefly about the showdown that occurred Friday (31/3/2023) before boarding Marine One to fly to the Mississippi city that was recently battered by a tornado.
“Let him go,” the US president replied when asked what his message to Moscow was about Gershkovich.
Asked if his administration plans to expel Russian diplomats or journalists, as the WSJ proposed, Biden said, “That’s not the plan at this point.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Thursday that Gershkovich had been detained in Ekaterinburg while allegedly trying to collect classified information about Russian defense manufacturers.
The reporter is suspected of carrying out espionage on behalf of the US government, charges which can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The WSJ dismissed the allegations as “doubting in its face” and claimed the Russian government had taken Gershkovich “hostage” in preparation for a future prisoner exchange.
“A Biden administration must consider both diplomatic and political escalation. Expelling the Russian ambassador to the US, as well as all the Russian journalists working here, would be the bare minimum,” the paper said in an editorial on Thursday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the proposed retaliation would be “absurd and wrong”.
He reiterated the claim that Gershkovich had been caught red-handed.
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