WASHINGTON, April 6. /TASS/. Washington insists on obtaining consular access to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia for espionage, but it is too early to discuss his exchange, US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby told reporters Thursday.
"We still haven’t been able to get consular access. And that’s an issue that we continually bring up through our embassy in Moscow with the Russians," he said. "It is inexcusable. We need to get consular access to Evan."
When asked, when Washington will be ready to discuss Gershkovich’s exchange for a detained Russian national, Kirby said:
"I won’t get ahead of where we are. And I think you can understand why we would certainly not want to talk about potential negotiations here from the podium."
"We are at a very stage here," Kirby added. "The main goal is to get consular access to him so we could have that contact."
According to the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia, Gershkovich was gathering classified information about a Russian military-industrial enterprise under orders from the US side. According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the reporter was apprehended in the act; a criminal case on charges of espionage has been initiated. Gershkovich was put into custody until May 29.