Russia Won't 'Tolerate' US Pressure Over WSJ Reporter, Says Deputy Foreign Minister

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Facts

• Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said on Wednesday that Russia was considering granting US diplomats consular access to Evan Gershkovich — the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges — but warned that Moscow 'will not tolerate' any attempts from the US to pressure it over the issue.¹
• Ryabkov added that 'it has no significance what status they assign to this person in Washington. We will act in accordance with our own internal needs, norms and laws that apply in this situation, and nothing more.'¹
• The comments come after the US State Dept. officially designated Gershkovich as 'wrongfully detained' by Russia, and called on it to provide consular access to him earlier in the week. Vedant Patel, a State Dept. spokesman, said: 'It is a violation of Russia’s obligations under our consular convention and a violation against international law. We have stressed the need for the Russian government to provide this access as soon as possible.'²
• On Tuesday, US Pres. Joe Biden called Gershkovich's family. A statement from the family read: 'We appreciate Pres. Biden’s call to us today, assuring us that the US government is doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible.'³
• Meanwhile, a video shared on social media this week appeared to show a Russian soldier beheading a Ukrainian serviceman with a knife. Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a strong statement condemning the act on Wednesday and called on world leaders to react appropriately.⁴
• Elsewhere, Sergey Aksenov, head of the Russian-appointed administration in Crimea, said the peninsula will not hold a military parade to commemorate Victory Day — marking the Soviet's defeat of Nazi Germany — on May 1 this year. It follows similar moves announced by officials of the Russian border regions of Kursk and Belgorod, who stated they did not want to 'provoke the enemy' with an accumulation of military personnel and equipment.⁵

Sources: ¹Yahoo news, ²CNN, ³NBC, ⁴Ukrainska pravda (a) and ⁵Ukrainska pravda (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNN. Russia's charges of espionage against Evan Gershkovich are baseless and nothing more than an attack on journalism and dissent. He is being wrongfully detained and the US government is doing everything in its power to have him released.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by Tass. Russia is acting in full accordance with local and international law with respect to Evan Gershkovich. It will not tolerate attempts from the US government to exert unjustified pressure on Russia over the handling of the case.

Predictions