The Russian ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, said he had a “very harsh” conversation with the State Department over the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Mr. Antonov met with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland after being summoned over Mr. Gershkovich’s detention in late March on charges of espionage — allegations the U.S. has called bogus.

“The Americans threatened us with retaliatory measures if we did not release Gershkovich in the near future. Let’s see how they will act,” Mr. Antonov told Russia’s Channel One.

He said the meeting had “no practical outcome.”

Mr. Antonov also said the number of U.S. reporters in Russia exceeds the number of Russian reporters in the U.S.

“Maybe it’s time for us to show reciprocity and reduce the number of American journalists who work in Moscow, Russia as a whole, to the number that works in Washington and New York?” he said.

The State Department has determined that Mr. Gershkovich, 31, was wrongfully detained in Russia, meaning he is essentially a political or diplomatic hostage.

The designation commits a specific State Department office to his case.

Many believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using U.S. detainees as diplomatic pawns against the backdrop of his invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. used a prisoner swap to free U.S. basketball star and twice Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, though it is unclear how the American side plans to negotiate for the release of Mr. Gershkovich and a second U.S. detainee, Paul Whelan.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.