‘The American side must listen to us’: Vladimir Putin on negotiations over the release of WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich

Vladimir Putin said during his end-of-year press conference on Thursday that talks between Moscow and Washington over the return of Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia on espionage charges in March 2023, are ongoing.

The statement came in response to a question from New York Times journalist Valerie Hopkins about why Russia is holding multiple U.S. citizens in prison without a trial or investigation, including Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

In his response, Putin initially acted confused about who Hopkins was talking about, referring to Gershkovich as an “Austrian citizen” before somebody corrected him. “Why don’t they return home? Well, why don’t they refrain from breaking the law on Russian territory?” he said.

The president went on to say that he’s not refusing Washington’s proposals point-blank, but that any agreement will ultimately have to satisfy both sides.

“It’s not like we’re refusing to return him — we’re not refusing. We want to negotiate, and these negotiations must be mutually acceptable and suit both sides. We’re in contact with our American partners on this issue; there’s an ongoing dialogue. It’s not easy, but in general we’re speaking in a language that both sides can understand,” Putin said. “I believe the American side must listen to us and make decisions that the Russian side can accept. But humanitarian considerations should undoubtedly be at the heart of these decisions.

In early December, the U.S. State Department said that the Russian authorities had rejected a “significant” U.S. proposal for the release of Gershkovich and Whelan.