The United States confirmed on Friday that it was in talks with Russia about a potential prisoner exchange for Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but warned that the discussions had not yet produced “a clear path to a resolution.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov said this week that the two countries were in contact about the possibility of a swap. President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, confirmed the Kremlin’s statements on Friday, but said he did not want to give “false hope.”
“There have been discussions, but those discussions have not produced a clear path toward a resolution,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters, adding that the US did not have a “clear answer” on how it would would secure Mr. Gershkovich’s release.
“All I can do,” he said, “is tell you that we have a clear promise and commitment that we will do everything to bring him home.”
Mr. met Sullivan with members of Mr. Gershkovich’s family and Wall Street Journal staff, according to The Journal, to mark 100 days since Mr. Gershkovich’s detention. Gershkovich, 31, on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Mr. Gershkovich is being held at Lefortovo, a notoriously harsh, high-security prison. He could face a 20-year sentence if convicted on what the US government, The Journal and press freedom groups say are bogus espionage charges.
“The world knows that the allegations against Evan are baseless,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, told reporters on Friday.
The United States considers Russia to have “wrongfully imprisoned” both Mr. Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a former Marine serving a 16-year sentence in Russia on espionage charges, a designation tantamount to being a political hostage.
“Our message to Evan and Paul is this: Keep the faith. We will not stop until you come home,” said Ms. Jean-Pierre.
In a brief statement on Friday, Mr. Gershkovich’s family said the support from around the world was “overwhelming.”
“Every day that Evan’s not home is one day too many,” the family said.
