MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) - The Kremlin has declined to provide details of the negotiations on exchanging U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, whose trial is due to begin in Yekaterinburg on June 26.
Journalists asked Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday whether the beginning of the trial implied any progress in Russian-U.S. contacts regarding Gershkovich's exchange. "I would refer you to the conversation the president [Vladimir Putin] had with news agency heads in St. Petersburg a short time ago. He confirmed the existence of such contacts. However, they are and should be maintained in complete information silence," he said.
"So, there can be no announcements, statements or new information on the subject," Peskov said.