(Washington) Former President Donald Trump took to social media on Thursday to promise that if he is elected, he will be able to free American journalist Ivan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia.
“Ivan Gershkovich, journalist The Wall Street JournalConducted by Russia, will be released soon after the election, but certainly before I take office,” the Republican candidate writes on Truth Social.
“He will be at home, safe and with his family. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, will do this for me, but for anyone else, we will not pay anything! », he adds.
Donald Trump, who will face Democratic President Joe Biden in the November election, has in the past called Mr. He admired Putin and boasted that he could end the war in Ukraine, which Russia invaded two years ago, in one day.
to appeal The Wall Street JournalEvan Gershkovich, who previously worked for the AFP in Moscow, was arrested by the Russian Security Services (FSB) in March 2023 during a report in Yekaterinburg, Urals.
He was charged with espionage, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and unprecedented severity against a foreign journalist since the end of the Soviet Union.
He denies the allegations, as does America, his newspaper, his loved ones and his family.
Russia has never confirmed its allegations or publicly provided evidence, and the entire process has been classified as secret.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Mr Trump had “nothing to do with Donald Trump”. He responded when asked about Trump’s comments.
“Regarding communications [américano-russes] In the matter of the imprisoned and convicted, we may say that these communications should be conducted in the utmost secrecy. This is the only way it will work,” he added.
The US and Russia have already carried out prisoner exchanges following secret talks.
The Biden administration said it made a “significant offer” to Russia in late 2023 to release Ivan Gershkovich, possibly as part of a prisoner exchange, but Moscow has rejected it.
In recent years, several US citizens have been arrested and sentenced to long sentences in Russia. Washington, which has supported Kiev against the Russian military for two years, accuses Moscow of wanting to exchange them for Russians detained in the United States.
