The White House on Thursday condemned Russia over the arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter on allegations of espionage, charges the newspaper has denied.
State Department officials have been in direct contact with Kremlin officials and are “actively working” to secure consular access to Evan Gershkovich after Russia’s Federal Security Service announced it had detained the reporter in the city of Yekaterinburg, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
She said White House and State Department officials have communicated with Mr. Gershkovich’s family and his employer since Wednesday evening.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said President Biden was briefed on Mr. Gershkovich’s detention Thursday morning.
“The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “We condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich in the strongest terms. We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and repression of journalists and freedom of the press.”
Ms. Jean-Pierre reiterated the U.S. government’s warning that its citizens should avoid traveling to Russia. Officials also said American ex-pats in Russia should depart immediately.
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Russian authorities said Mr. Gershkovich was trying to gain information about the Russian military-industrial complex that amounts to a state secret. The reporter was “acting on the instructions of the American side,” according to the Federal Security Service.
The Journal denied the allegations in a statement about Mr. Gershkovich, who works out of the Moscow bureau.
“We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family,” The Journal said.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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