In a significant announcement, the Kremlin has confirmed that it has engaged in discussions with US officials regarding a potential prisoner exchange involving Evan Gershkovich, a Jewish American Wall Street Journal journalist from New Jersey who has been held in a Russian prison since March.
Gershkovitch grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, and attended Princeton High School before enrolling in Bowdoin College, a school in Maine.
On Monday, the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, visited Gershkovich, marking the first time a consular official has been able to meet with him since April. Concurrently, Russian embassy officials held their initial meeting this week with Vladimir Dunaey, a Russian national currently incarcerated in the United States on cybercrime charges.
When asked about the implications of the consular visits in relation to a future prisoner swap, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, hinted to reporters on Tuesday that the possibility was being considered.
Gershkovich, 31, is the son of Jewish refugees from the Soviet Union. He was arrested by the Federal Security Service on March 29 while on a reporting assignment in Yekaterinburg. He has since been held at Lefortovo prison on charges of espionage, which both Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal, as well as the US government, vehemently deny.
A Moscow court recently upheld a decision to extend his pretrial detention until at least August 30.