WASHINGTON: Presi­dent Joe Biden said on Friday the US will impose costs for Russia’s “appalling attempts” to use Americans as bargaining chips in a statement to mark the first anniversary of Wall Street Journal repor­ter Evan Gersh­kovich’s arrest in Russia.

Gershkovich, 32, became the first US journalist arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 last year.

“As I have told Evan’s parents, I will never give up hope either. We will continue working every day to secure his release,” Biden said in a statement released by the White House that called the journalist’s detention “wholly unjust and illegal”.

“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips,” Biden added.

The Kremlin said on Thursday complete silence was needed when it came to discussions about possible prisoner exchanges involving Gershkovich.

The reporter, the Journal and the US government all deny he is a spy. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Gershkovich had been trying to obtain military secrets.

He has now spent a year at Moscow’s high-security Lefortovo prison, which is closely associated with the FSB, and his detention has been extended to June 30.

Top leaders in the US Congress from both parties, including Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, also issued a joint statement on Friday calling the journalist’s arrest baseless and unjust.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2024