Biden ‘serious on a prisoner exchange’ for WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich 

President Biden stressed Thursday that he is “serious” about securing the return of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been held by Russian authorities since late March.

“I’m serious on a prisoner exchange,” Biden said during a joint press conference in Helsinki, Finland, alongside that country’s president, Sauli Niinistö.

“And I’m serious about doing all we can to free Americans being illegally held in Russia or anywhere else for that matter, and that process is underway,” the commander-in-chief added.

Gershkovich was detained March 29 in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges that the US government and Wall Street Journal have both vehemently denied.

The 31-year-old has been held in Russia for 106 days and is the first American journalist arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov revealed earlier this month that there “have been certain contacts on the subject” when asked about a possible swap of Gershkovich for Russian national Vladimir Dunaev, who is being held in the US for alleged cybercrimes.

“We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we don’t want them to be discussed in public,” Peskov told reporters at the time. “They must be carried out and continue in complete silence.”

Last week, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan echoed Peskov’s claim that there had been “discussions” about Gershkovich, but stressed there is no “clear pathway” to his release yet.

US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy met with Gershkovich on July 3 at Lefortovo prison in Moscow and found him to be in good health, according to the State Department.

Prior to that, officials last talked with Gershkovich April 17, with Russia declining to provide additional access in the interim.

Last month, a Russian court rejected Gershkovich’s appeal for release and ordered him to be held in custody through Aug. 30. 

Officials at the State Department previously told the Journal they believe the most viable path for Gershkovich’s release would be through a prisoner swap. 

In addition to Gershkovich, the US is also keen on securing former US Marine Paul Whelan’s release after he was detained in Russia in 2018 and convicted on espionage charges.

Biden was due to arrive back in Washington Thursday night after a four-day trip through Europe that included stops in the United Kingdom, the NATO summit in Lithuania, and Finland.