The Kremlin is currently "not interested" in granting an interview with President Vladimir Putin to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on September 9. "For there to be an interview with foreign media and some specific one, we need to have an occasion," Peskov said. Gershkovich was one of 16 people freed by Russia in August's landmark prisoner swap with the West. He requested an interview with Putin while filling out a form requesting a presidential pardon ahead of the prisoner exchange, The Wall Street Journal reported. Gershkovich spent more than 16 months in Russian detention on espionage charges that he, his employer, and the White House denounced as false.
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