In an interview released Thursday, Tucker Carlson urged President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to release an American Wall Street Journal reporter who has been held in a notorious Moscow prison for nearly a year.
Mr. Carlson’s appeal on behalf of the journalist, Evan Gershkovich, was only the second time Mr. Putin has directly addressed a case that has galvanized press freedom groups and strained diplomatic relations with the United States.
Large parts of the two-hour interview were taken up by Mr Putin recounting hundreds of years of Russian history. But in the final minutes, Mr. Carlson asked, “as a sign of your decency,” if “you would be willing to release him to us and we will bring him back to the United States.” Mr Carlson added: “This guy is obviously not a spy. He’s a kid and maybe he broke your law in some way, but he’s not a super spy and everyone knows that.”
Mr Putin was noncommittal in his response. “We’ve done so many goodwill gestures out of decency that I think we’ve run out,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks by Mr. Carlson’s team.
Pressed on the case by Mr Carlson, Mr Putin later added: “I too want him to finally return home. I am completely honest. But let me say once again, the dialogue continues.”
The Russian leader suggested he wanted additional concessions from US officials before considering releasing Mr Gershovitch. Mr Putin has suggested he may be willing to swap the journalist for Vadim Krashikov, a Russian national sentenced to life in prison in Germany for the 2019 killing of a Chechen ex-separatist fighter in Berlin.
Mr. Gershkowitz, 32, was the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War, and the US government has labeled him an “unwarranted prisoner,” meaning he is effectively considered a political prisoner.
He was arrested in March in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg and charged with espionage, an allegation that The Journal and US authorities have strongly denied. He has since been held in the notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow awaiting trial.
The magazine is owned by the family of Rupert Murdoch, who also controls Mr. Carlson’s former employer, Fox News. “We are encouraged to see Russia’s desire for a deal to bring Evan home, and we hope this will lead to his speedy release and return to his family and our newsroom,” the newspaper said in a statement Thursday after the broadcast of Interview Putin.
Last month, Mr. Gershkowitz, who once worked at The New York Times as a news assistant, was ordered to remain in jail until at least March 30, the fourth time his detention has been extended. Russian authorities have said they may be open to a prisoner exchange for him, but only after a verdict in his case.
In December, Times correspondent Valerie Hopkins asked Mr. Putin at a news conference about Mr. Gershkovich’s case. The Russian leader answered only vaguely. “We want to make a deal, but it will have to be mutually acceptable to both sides,” he said, adding, “I hope we can find a solution.”
In Thursday’s interview, Mr. Putin offered a similarly vague response to Mr. Carlson. “I do not rule out that the person you refer to, Mr. Gershkovich, will return to his country,” Mr. Putin said. “But we have to come to an agreement.”
“I hope you’ll let him out,” replied Mr. Carlson.
