MOSCOW, July 22. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not commenting on the possibility of swapping US reporter Evan Gershkovich convicted in Russia for 16 years on espionage charges.

"I have nothing to say to this question, I will leave this without an answer," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, replying to a request to comment as to whether the verdict to Gershkovich means that the issue of his swap may be resolved before the US presidential election.

According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Gershkovich, "acting as an agent for the American side, collected top-secret data about the activity of an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex." In this connection, the journalist was detained in Yekaterinburg at the end of March 2023; criminal proceedings were initiated against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Espionage"). On July 19, Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage.