(CNSNews.com) - The White House on Thursday called Russia’s arrest of an American journalist who works for the Wall Street Journal’s Moscow bureau on charges of espionage “ridiculous.”
“The president was briefed this morning on the troubling reports that Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia. Last night, senior White House officials spoke directly with Mr. Gershkovich’s employer, the Wall Street Journal. The State Department has also been in touch with the Wall Street Journal and his family on this matter,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
She said that the “espionage charges are ridiculous,” adding that “the targeting of American citizens by Russian government is unacceptable.”
“We condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich in the strongest — in the strongest terms. We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and repression of journalists,” the press secretary said.
“Embassy Moscow has engaged the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter in the — seeking consular access. I want to strongly reiterate that Americans should heed the U.S. government’s warning to not travel to Russia. U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, as the State Department continues to advise,” Jean-Pierre said.
The press secretary said that “due to privacy concerns” she couldn’t share more about the negotiations to get Gershkovich out of Russia.
“We want to be very mindful of this. I know you guys have heard us say this before. So, again, we just want to be really mindful. There is a process in place that the State Department is running. You just heard from my colleague, or might be still speaking at this time, at the State Department, and so, again, we’re just going to be very mindful,” she said.
As far as President Biden’s reaction, Jean-Pierre said that the president learned about this during his “presidential daily briefing with his national security team and advisors, who normally provide the daily briefing.”
“And are you concerned at all? Obviously, this is the first detention of a U.S. reporter on espionage charges in a very long time. Do you think this marks a turning point or a new low for the relationship with the U.S. and Russia?” a reporter asked.
“So, look, we don’t — we didn’t — we don’t have any specific indication that journalists would be targeted. As we know, this is incredibly, sadly, common for Russia to detain Americans, and that’s why we’ve been very clear about — about Americans not going to Russia,” Jean-Pierre said.
“It is not safe for Americans right now in Russia. It is a Level 4. My colleague at the State Department spoke to this just moments ago. Again, we’re going to continue, the State Department is going to continue to reiterate that it is not safe at this time to be in Russia or to travel in Russia,” she said.
When asked whether the administration would call it a hostage situation, the press secretary said, “Same — same — I mean, he’s being wrong- — he’s being detained, and — and we have been very clear there’s — you know, there’s no reason to believe that those charges are accurate, the espionage — are accurate.”
“I don’t want to speak beyond that, and certainly, we will have more information when we get it. There are privacy concerns, so we just want to be very mindful on how we speak about this,” she said.
When asked whether the White House is concerned that if the U.S. continues to engage in prisoner swaps - like those of Trevor Reed and Britney Griner - that will embolden Russia to detain Americans as leverage, Jean-Pierre said, “So, look, detaining Americans, as my colleague said — my NSC colleague said — is a tactic Russia has used for a long time. It is nothing new.
“When you think about Paul Whelan, you think about Trevor Reed, they were taken prior — to the prior administration — under the prior administration, and so, as you all know, we’re still working very hard to bring Paul home. That is something that we are committed to. You heard that from the president. You heard that from the Secretary of State,” she said.
You’ve heard that from my colleagues at NSC, and so, right now, our best tool to prevent this is to make sure that we are discouraging anybody to travel to Russia, and we’ll continue to be clear about that, but again, this is a tactic that they have been using for some time now,” the press secretary said.
Jean-Pierre added that the Biden administration is “still very much committed” to bring Paul Whelan home. “He was wrongfully detained. We have been very clear about that, but not going to get into details on — on those conversations.”