The trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich is scheduled to begin in Russia in a week.
Russia says that it is waiting for a response from the United States to the proposals for a prisoner exchange. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia tells about it Sergei Ryabkov in an interview with the state news agency Tassi.
US reporter by Evan Gershkovich the trial is scheduled to begin in Russia in a week. Gershkovich, who worked for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in March last year and is suspected of working for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The United States has called the charges fabricated, and the Wall Street Journal has described them as outrageous.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin said in February that there were discussions about a prisoner swap involving Gershkovich. However, Russia has not given any details about the progress of the negotiations.
Ryabkov says in an interview with Tassi that he understands that not everything in Russia’s proposal is to the United States’ liking.
– That is their problem, he pointed out.
Gershkovich’s arrest was the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union that Russia arrested a Western journalist on suspicion of espionage. If convicted, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison.
The United States has accused Russia of unjustified arrests of Americans. According to the United States, Russia is trying to use the detainees as pawns to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.
Also dual US-Russian citizen, journalist Alsu Kurmasheva is in pretrial detention in Russia. He was arrested last year for failing to register as a driver of foreign interests, as required by Russian law.
The US has also claimed a former US Marine by Paul Whelan release. Whelan has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage.