Soldier of Fortune magazine, edited by Katz Keating, cites statements by Dimitri Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, who confirmed talks about a possible swap that could involve Gershkovich and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen detained in South Korea and extradited to the United States. United States, where he is being held in an Ohio jail.
“We have said that there have been some contacts on the subject, but we do not want them to be discussed in public. They must be carried out and continue in complete silence,” Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
It is striking that the United States granted Dunaev consular access on Monday for the first time since his arrest in 2021, while Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Moscow, visited Gershkovich that same day for the second time since his arrest in late March. .
A White House official told the Wall Street Journal, the outlet Gershkovich worked for at the time of his arrest, on Tuesday: “While we unfortunately do not have a breakthrough to share, we continue to pursue all avenues to secure the release of Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan,” a former US Marine detained for Russia on espionage charges since 2018.
Late last year, American professional basketball player Brittney Griner was traded for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
In early 2022, Trevor Reed, an American convicted in Russia of assaulting two police officers, was traded for Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2011 for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the US.
