Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday refused to comment on the potential prisoner exchange with the United States that could involve The Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who had previously been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia.
The 32-year-old journalist has been found guilty of espionage, which alleges that he spied for the United States government and collaborated with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to collect "secret information" about a tank production facility in the Sverdlovsk region, marking the first time since an American reporter was arrested in Russia since the Cold War.
On December 8, 2022, Moscow and Washington carried out a prisoner swap, releasing American basketball player Brittney Griner in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
