US ‘serious about prisoner exchange’ for reporter held in Russia

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court (Dmitry Serebryakov/AP/PA)

US President Joe Biden has said he is serious about pursuing a prisoner exchange for a Wall Street Journal reporter who has been detained in Russia for more than 100 days.

The Kremlin earlier this month suggested that it was open to a possible prisoner exchange that could involve Evan Gershkovich, but it underscored that such talks must be held out of the public eye.