Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made a bold request for an interview with Vladimir Putin before his release from a Russian jail.
The journalist was released as part of a historic prisoner exchange involving 24 inmates between Russia and the West.
Gershkovich, 32, had been jailed for nearly 500 days until his release Thursday, along with two other U.S. citizens and other prisoners.
He was being held in Russia on espionage charges that the US government considered illegitimate.
It has now emerged that before his shock release, Gershkovich left a note for the Russian prime minister asking if he could sit down for an interview. WSJ newspaper reports.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made a bold request for an interview with Putin before his release from a Russian jail.
The request was made as part of the mandatory forms Gershkovich completed as part of his application for presidential clemency.
“The last in line has a proposal of his own: after his release, would Putin be willing to grant an interview?” asks the WSJ.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
He was released along with former US Marine Paul Whelan, 54, who had also been convicted of espionage, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
The American citizens were part of a group of 16 Western prisoners whose release was negotiated as part of the exchange.
They included the green card holder. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dissident journalist also jailed in Russia, and at least seven Russian opposition figures who had been jailed in their home country.
The journalist was released in a historic prisoner exchange involving 24 inmates from the East and West. Pictured: Gershkovich aboard his flight to freedom
The trio posed with an American flag alongside returning citizen Alsu Kurmasheva (center), who was also released on Thursday.
Kara-Murza, 42, was arrested in April 2022, just hours after a CNN interview aired in which he claimed Russia was ruled by a “regime of murderers.”
His release was part of a complex and historic prisoner exchange involving seven different countries.
The exchange finally took place in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday morning.
White House officials, diplomats and the CIA are understood to have been part of the negotiation process and carefully assessed which other Western and Middle Eastern countries were willing to release Russian prisoners as part of the deal.
According to the WSJ newspaperLast week, CIA Director William Burns traveled to Turkey to finalize the logistics of the exchange with his Kremlin counterpart.
President Biden also played a role in the historic exchange: He spoke directly to Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob to convince him to pardon two Russian spies, who would be returned to Russia in the exchange.
The request was made as part of mandatory forms Gershkovich completed as part of her request for presidential clemency from Vladimir Putin, pictured with Indonesian Defense Minister and President-elect Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday.
The exchange took place on Thursday in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. The country has previously acted as a mediator in prisoner exchanges between Russia and the West.
President Biden shared this photo shortly after it was posted with the caption: “After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journey back to the arms of their families.”
The president hailed the deal as a “diplomatic feat” as he confirmed that 16 prisoners had been released from Russia, including seven opposition figures jailed in their home country.
“Some of these women and men have been unjustly detained for years. They have all endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,” Biden said.
“This is a powerful example of why it is vital to have friends in this world whom we can trust and depend on. Our alliances make Americans safer.
‘And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American unjustly detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with his or her family.
‘Today we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsou and Vladimir and rejoice with their families.’
The deal was largely contingent on the release of convicted killer Vadim Krasikov from a German prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the daylight murder of a Georgian-born Chechen separatist.
Putin is believed to have personally requested Krasikov’s release in exchange for Gershkovich and the other hostages as a reward for “state-contracted murder.”