Russia will thoroughly consider a United States request for consular access to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich if it receives one, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik on Wednesday
ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th June, 2023) Russia will thoroughly consider a United States request for consular access to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich if it receives one, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"When and if a relevant request regarding a visit to Gershkovich is received from the US Embassy in Moscow, it will be thoroughly considered," Zakharova said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
She also noted that the decision on the issue depends on the state of Russia-US relations, which are not at their best at the moment. As an example of bad rapport between Moscow and Washington, the diplomat pointed out how the US authorities had not issued visas in time to Russian reporters who were supposed to cover Russia's assuming the presidency of the UN Security Council,.
In April, the Russian Foreign Ministry rejected the US Embassy's request for a consular visit to Gershkovich in detention. The decision was made after the US did not issue visas to Russian reporters in time for them to travel with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to New York to attend UN events that month.
On March 29, Gershkovich was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of trying to collect classified defense information for the United States. The Wall Street Journal has rejected the allegations and demanded Gershkovich's immediate release.
SPIEF is held from June 14-17. RIA Novosti, a part of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, is an official media partner and the host photo agency for the event.
