‘What Deal Do You Want?’ NBC Reporter Presses Putin’s Top Aide On Releasing Long Held WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich

NBC’s international correspondent Keir Simmons pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson on releasing imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov sat down with the American journalist a day after Putin announced he was open to a deal on releasing U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and the WSJ’s Gerschkovich from Russian custody. Putin was vague when mentioning the release of the two Americans but did offer specifics about what the Kremlin would want.

Simmons pressed Peskov on the issue and even suggested that the Kremlin is using the imprisoned Americans as hostages. The Kremlin spokesperson denied the accusation, claiming the two men were under custody of the Russian state.

SIMMONS: What deal do you want?

PESKOV: You know, this is very sensitive issue. The more we’re trying to to highlight this issue, the more the more more difficult it will be to reach the agreement.

SIMMONS: It is a notable shift, though. I mean, he’s openly saying we’re interested in a deal.

PESKOV: President Putin is always interested in a deal. But it is a deal that presumes that interests of both sides are taken into consideration.

SIMMONS: When we’ve spoken before, you know, I’ve suggested to you that these people are hostages.

PESKOV: They’re not hostages. They’re not hostages. They are in custody. They are not hostages.

Gerschkovich was detained in Russia in March and accused by the Russian Federal Security Service of espionage for the United States. Meanwhile, Whelan, a security consultant from Michigan, has been jailed since December 2018 on similar charges and sentenced to 16 year in prison by a Russian court.

Watch the full segment above via MSNBC.

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