Tucker Carlson pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the detention of a Wall Street Journal reporter during a wide-ranging interview published Thursday.
Reporter Evan Gershkovich has been detained for nearly a year on espionage charges. The U.S. State Department denies the allegations and has designated the journalist “wrongfully detained.”
“As a sign of your decency,” Carlson asked Putin if he “would be willing to release him to us and we’ll bring him back to the United States.”
“We have done so many gestures of good will out of decency that I think we have run out of them,” Putin responded. “We have never seen anyone reciprocate to us in a similar manner. However, in theory, we can say that we do not rule out that we can do that if our partners take reciprocal steps.”
“What makes this different is that this guy’s obviously not a spy. He’s a kid, and maybe he was breaking your law in some way, but he’s not a superspy, and everybody knows that,” Carlson replied.
The Russian leader doubled down that the 32-year-old reporter was “covertly” obtaining “confidential information.”
Putin suggested more concessions from U.S. officials may be necessary before considering a release of Gershkovich.
"We are willing to solve it but there are certain terms being discussed via special services channels. I believe an agreement can be reached," he added, pressuring the U.S. to consider "how they can contribute to achieving the goals our special services are pursuing."
Though he didn't identify him by name, Putin was referring to exchanging Gershkovich for Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for killing a Chechen dissident in 2019.
In 2019, Georgia-born Chechen dissident Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was shot dead in a park in Berlin by a Russian man riding a bicycle. The assassin was later identified as Vadim Krasikov, who had entered Germany using false documents. The assassination triggered a major diplomatic row between Russia and Germany and led to the ouster of two Russian diplomats from Berlin. A German court later convicted Krasikov of the killing, which it referred to as a “state-ordered murder,” and sentenced him to life in prison. Putin and the Kremlin strongly refuted the allegations of the Russian government’s involvement in the murder calling it groundless. While Putin didn’t name Krasikov in his interview, he referred to him as a Russian “patriot” who carried out the killing in “one of the European capitals.” (Forbes)
Putin equates Evan Gershkovits, a journalist who was doing what journalists do (seek and expose secrets), to Vadim Krasikov, an FSB professional killer whom - Putin now finally admits - he sent to assassinate Khangoshvili in Berlin. pic.twitter.com/uTahgK5fci
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) February 9, 2024
The Wall Street Journal said it was "encouraged" by the exchange between Putin and Carlson on Gershkovich.
“We’re encouraged to see Russia’s desire for a deal that brings Evan home, and we hope this will lead to his rapid release and return to his family and our newsroom,” WSJ said in a statement.
“Evan is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Any portrayal to the contrary is total fiction,” the Journal added. “Evan was unjustly arrested and has been wrongfully detained by Russia for nearly a year for doing his job, and we continue to demand his immediate release.”
Tucker asks Putin about jailed WSJ journalist pic.twitter.com/SjPMutFJBP
— Tucker Carlson Network (@TCNetwork) February 8, 2024
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