Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

On April 2, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a phone call initiated by the US side.

Secretary Blinken touched on the issue of US citizen Evan Gershkovich being detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage. In the context of the discussion that followed, his attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions taken by the Russian authorities in accordance with the laws and international obligations of the Russian Federation. It was underscored that the uproar being raised by officials in Washington and the Western media with a clear intent to give this case a political slant was unacceptable.

Sergey Lavrov noted that Evan Gershkovich had been caught red-handed while attempting to obtain classified information constituting a state secret under the cover of his status as journalist. The future fate of this US citizen will be decided by the court of law in light of the established facts of his unlawful activities. The US Embassy in Moscow has been duly notified of his detention in keeping with the existing procedure.