Putin Currently Uninterested in Western Media Interviews, Says Kremlin

MOSCOW – The Kremlin stated on Monday that President Vladimir Putin is currently not interested in granting an interview to Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who was recently released from a Russian prison, nor to any other Western media representatives.

Gershkovich was convicted in Russia on espionage charges, which he, his newspaper, and U.S. officials vehemently deny. According to reports, he requested an interview with Putin at the time of his release during a significant East-West prisoner exchange on August 1.

When asked for a response to Gershkovich’s interview request, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "So far, we are not interested in such an interview. In order for there to be an interview with foreign media, especially a specific one, we need to have an occasion. So far, we don’t see such an occasion."

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many Western journalists have left the country. Gershkovich, who worked outside of Russia but traveled there for reporting, was arrested in March 2023 in Yekaterinburg, located in the Ural region.

The first U.S. journalist to be arrested on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War, Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a court determined he had gathered classified information on behalf of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency regarding a Russian tank manufacturer linked to Ukraine.

In February, Putin granted a rare interview to U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson, stating that Moscow was ready to defend its interests "to the end" but had no desire for a broader conflict.