Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was in talks with the United States over detained Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. In his end-of-year news conference on Thursday, Putin said he hoped to “find a solution” even though “it’s not easy.”
His comments come after the U.S. State Department said last week that Russia had recently rejected a “new and significant” proposal for the release of the two Americans. On Thursday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington has “put multiple offers on the table.”
“So far we have seen them refuse to take us up on our proposals and we hope that they will change the way they’ve handled this going forward,” Miller said.
Putin’s event Thursday was his first year-end news conference since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The country’s longtime leader recently announced he would be running for another six-year term as president in Russia’s upcoming March election.
Detained Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan
Gershkovich, a journalist with the Wall Street Journal, has been imprisoned in Russia since March, when he was detained in the city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. Both Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal deny the allegations against him, and the United States declared him to be wrongfully detained.
A Moscow court on Thursday refused a fourth appeal to release Gershkovich from pretrial detention, leaving him under arrest until Jan. 30, 2024.
Whelan, a corporate security executive, has been jailed in Russia since 2018 on espionage-related charges that he and the U.S. government dispute.
“As my government has said countless times, the charges against Evan and Paul are baseless,” U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said in a statement. “The U.S. government will continue to advocate for Evan’s immediate release, and the release of all wrongfully detained Americans overseas.”
Putin said there was a dialogue between Russia and the U.S.
“It’s not easy, I won’t go into details right now. But in general, it seems to me that we’re speaking a language each of us understands,” Putin said. “I hope we will find a solution. But, I repeat, the American side must hear us and make a decision that will satisfy the Russian side as well.”
Alexander Kazakov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The war in Ukraine
During the four-hour news conference, Putin also spoke about the war in Ukraine, saying Russia would achieve “victory” and that its goals remain the same: the demilitarization and “denazification” of Ukraine, referring to the Kremlin’s narrative that the war is about liberating the country from Nazis.
“I am sure that victory will be ours,” Putin said, claiming Russian troops were “improving their position on almost the entire line of contact.”
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it has been hit by a myriad of Western sanctions. Despite Russia’s international isolation, Putin said the country was prepared to continue and would not need to mobilize more troops.
“There is enough for us not only to feel confident, but to move forward,” he said.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive over the summer against Russia did not make much progress, and Western support for Ukraine’s war effort appears to be dampening amid political disputes in the U.S. and the EU.
Caitlin Yilek contributed reporting.
