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Russia can consider Gershkovich’s swap only after trial, says diplomat

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is "trying to stoke up tensions around this issue on a daily basis," Sergey Ryabkov lamented

MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. The possibility of exchanging US national Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter suspected of espionage, can be discussed only after a court makes a ruling in his case, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Thursday.

The two countries’ intel services are dealing with issues related to potential swaps involving Gershkovich or another US citizen, Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia for espionage, Ryabkov added.

"Anyone’s exchange can be only considered after a court verdict with concrete charges," he emphasized. According to Ryabkov, placing the two individuals in the same category, even formally, would be wrong. "As for a [potential] swap, we have a special channel for that, and the special services have been handling this and they will continue to do so," he said.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is "trying to stoke up tensions around this issue on a daily basis," the senior Russian diplomat lamented.

According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich, "acting at the behest of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise within Russia’s military-industrial complex." The reporter was detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in late March.

FSB investigators opened a criminal case against the US citizen under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Espionage"). Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the journalist had been "caught red-handed." On March 30, a Moscow court ordered that Gershkovich be held until May 29.

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