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Spokesman says Kremlin not handling issue of consular access to detained WSJ reporter

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated earlier that consular access to Gershkovich would depend on how the situation unfolded

MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not involved in handling the issue of consular access to Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained by Russian authorities on espionage charges, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

"No, we aren’t dealing with the issue," he said, commenting on a WSJ report alleging that Moscow had refused to grant US officials regular consular access to Gershkovich.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated earlier that consular access to Gershkovich would depend on how the situation unfolded. According to him, the previous refusal had stemmed from a situation where no other option was feasible.

According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich, acting at the behest of the US, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of Russian defense sector companies. In this connection, the journalist was detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. Criminal charges have been filed against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Espionage"). As Peskov remarked earlier, the journalist was caught red-handed. On March 30, Moscow’s Lefortovsky District Court ordered that Gershkovich be held in custody until May 29.

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