Former U.S. President Donald Trump, expected to be the Republican candidate in November's presidential election, claimed Russian leader Vladimir Putin would release detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich "almost immediately" after the vote if Trump wins. In a social media post, Trump gave no details on how he would facilitate Gershkovich's release, saying only that Putin would "do that for me." After the post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump and Putin have had no contact and that "complete silence" is needed "to achieve results" in any prisoner swap talks. Gershkovich has been held in detention since March last year on spying charges both he and the newspaper vehemently deny, saying the 32-year-old was merely doing his job as an accredited reporter when he was arrested.
Kremlin Denies Contact With Trump After Claim About Journalist's Release
U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, waits in a defendants' cage before a hearing to consider an appeal on his extended pretrial detention, at the Moscow City Court in Moscow on February 20.