US journalist arrested: ‘useless pressure’, warns Russia
Russia assured the US ambassador on Thursday that it was “useless” to try to pressure Moscow over the case of US journalist Ivan Gershkovich, who was arrested on “espionage” charges that Washington rejected. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov welcomed the new US ambassador, Lynn Tracy. “The hype surrounding this case (…) is futile and pointless in order to put pressure on the Russian authorities and the court that must decide the fate of Ivan Gershkovich,” his ministry said in a press release.
According to Moscow, Mr. Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal who previously worked for AFP in Moscow, spoke about the “seriousness of the allegations against” during the meeting. Ryabkov insisted. “He was caught red-handed while trying to obtain classified information, used his status as a journalist as a cover for illegal activities and qualified for espionage,” Mr. Ryabkov promised.
Arrested by Russian security services in Ekaterinburg in the Urals region, Mr. Gershkovich is in pretrial detention awaiting trial.
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