‘Time to reduce number of American reporters working in Russia,’ says Russian envoy in tit-for-tat move

Moscow: After the detention and subsequent lack of consular access to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russia on Friday indicated that it may be time to cut down on the number of US journalists working in Russia in obvious anticipation of retaliatory steps threatened by the United States.

“The Americans have threatened us with retaliatory measures if we do not release Gershkovich in the near future,” Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov told Russia’s First Channel state television. “We shall see how they will act.”

Antonov also revealed that he had had a “very harsh conversation” with US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, who bluntly accused Russia of illegally detaining Gershkovich and had repeatedly interrupted the Russian ambassador in a counterproductive sort of way by not letting him speak.

The Russian ambassador said given the current circumstances and the relationship between the two countries, which is at its lowest ebb since the Cold War, that it might be time to reduce the number of American journalists working in Russia.

“The Americans have a very good word — reciprocity which they always insist on,” Antonov told the media. “Perhaps it is the time for us to show reciprocity and reduce the number of American journalists who work in Moscow and in Russia as a whole to the number [of Russian journalists] who work in Washington and New York,” he said.

The comments come soon after Germany also announced plans of reducing diplomatic presence in Russia, last week.

In recent times, the total number of Russian officials expelled from US and Europe since the Russia-Ukraine war began has crossed the 400-mark. These mass expulsions, are believed to be the largest in history. They are also likely to have lasting impact on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intelligence services and their ability to spy—and to subvert—in Europe.

Barely a day earlier, Norway on Thursday announced it was expelling 15 Russian diplomats from the country, saying they were suspected of spying while working at the Russian Embassy in Oslo.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 30 it had detained Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and had charged him with espionage accusing him of collecting what it said were state secrets about a military industrial complex.

Gershkovich is the first American journalist detained in Russia on charges of spying since the end of the Cold War, and the WSJ as well as the Biden administration have vehemently denied he was involved in any kind of espionage.

The United States has urged Russia to release the journalist and called the Russian claims of espionage “ridiculous”. U.S. President Joe Biden has called for Gershkovich’s immediate release.

The Kremlin has said Gershkovich had been carrying out espionage “under the cover” of journalism. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told the United States that Gershkovich was caught “red-handed” while trying to obtain secrets.

Many American reporters or those working for US-based media houses have left Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine last year – and many more have left since the detention of Gershkovich.

In strongly-worded advisories, the United States has repeatedly told US citizens to leave Russia due to the war in Ukraine or face the risk of arbitrary arrest or harassment by Russian law enforcement agencies.

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