Russia confirms talks of prisoner swap for detained WSJ reporter Gershkovich

The Kremlin on Tuesday confirmed that Moscow and Washington have discussed the possibility of a prisoner swap to repatriate imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but that no deal had been reached.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on a Monday conference call fielded a question as to the prospect of swapping Gershkovich for Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian in U.S. custody over alleged cybercriminal activity, according to The Associated Press.

"We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we don’t want them to be discussed in public," Peskov confirmed. "They must be carried out and continue in complete silence."

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited Gershkovich on Monday.

"Ambassador Tracy reports that Mr. Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances. U.S. Embassy officials will continue to provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access," a State Department spokesperson said at the time.

Gershkovich, 31, was arrested in March on suspicion of spying. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) accuses him of "acting at the behest of the American side, collect[ing] information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise within Russia’s military-industrial complex."

He denies the allegations.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.