UN, September 13. /TASS/. The fate of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage in Russia, may be a topic of discussion during meetings with Russian representatives within the General Assembly High-level Week, US Permanent Spokeswoman to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told reporters.

"In terms of meetings that are planned by the Secretary, I can’t give you any preview of those meetings. I assume Lavrov in the Security Council. And I can say that every opportunity I have in my engagements with my Russian counterpart I do raise concerns and ask that Evan be released," she said.

The UN General Assembly High-Level Week will be held on September 19-23 in New York. The Russian delegation will be headed by Sergey Lavrov. On September 19, US President Joe Biden will address the General Assembly, but then he will leave New York. Then, the US will be represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg at the end of March. A criminal case was opened against him under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code (espionage). According to the Center for Public Relations of the Russian Federal Security Service, Gershkovich, "acting on the assignment of the American side, was collecting information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Russia." At the end of August, Moscow’s Lefortovo Court extended the arrest term of the journalist until November 30.