Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday rejected the Wall Street Journal's (WSJ) call for retaliation, claiming that expelling Russian journalists working in the U.S. would be wrong.
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Russia: Wall Street Journal Reporter Arrested for Espionage
Peskov's statements to the press came after WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich was detained on March 30 by Moscow's Lefortovo Court on suspicion of espionage.
According to the Russian diplomat, the expulsion of Russian journalists from the U.S. will be "absurd and wrong," as "there is simply no reason for it," Peskov said.
In this regard, the Kremlin spokesman added that Gershkovich was caught red-handed, however, "all foreign journalists with valid accreditation can and do continue their journalistic activities in our country."
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the day before the arrest of the WSJ journalist in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg as he attempted "to collect information constituting a state secret about the activities of an enterprise of Russia's military-industrial complex."
A criminal case has been opened against the American journalist on suspicion of espionage. Under Russian law, this is a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The WSJ has called for retaliation, claiming that the expulsion "of Russia's ambassador to the United States, as well as all Russian journalists working here, would be the least that could be expected."
For his part, U.S. President Joe Biden has said that at the moment it is not among the U.S. administration's plans to expel any of the Russian diplomats accredited in the country.