US Ambassador to Moscow Lynn Tracy met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov to discuss the situation surrounding The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Hershkovich. He was arrested last week in an espionage case.
As reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry, at the meeting with the American diplomat, Ryabkov emphasized the serious nature of the charges brought against the journalist.
The details of the meeting are not disclosed. The American side has not yet commented on it.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday called on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to immediately release Hershkovich and another American who is in Russian prison, Paul Whelan.
Hershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg on March 30. On the same day, the court in Moscow arrested the journalist until May 29.
The Russian investigation claims that the journalist collected secret information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex on the order of the United States. Details of the accusation are not given. According to the charge, Hershkovych faces up to 20 years in prison.
The head of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, previously emphasized that the American authorities are making every effort to release the correspondent of The Wall Street Journal from the moment it became known about his detention. At the same time, it was noted that employees of the US Embassy in Russia still do not have consular access to Hershkovich. The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the access of American diplomats to the arrested journalist was ensured.
On April 4, Hershkovych managed to meet with a lawyer for the first time.
