Putin calls on America to ‘make an offer to us’ for the release of Evan Gershkovich adding he should not have ‘committed offences on Russian soil’ as Moscow court today upholds ruling to keep him jailed until Jan 30

Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly indicated for the first time that he is willing to make a deal with the US for jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

At his first major news conference since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Putin was asked by Valerie Hopkins of The New York Times if a way could be found to bring Gershkovich, 32, and former Marine Paul Whelan, 53, home.

'Why did they commit crimes on Russian territory? They shouldn't have done that. It's not that we refuse to send them home. We want to reach an agreement and these agreements must be mutually acceptable,” Putin said.

'We are in contact with our American partners about this. We are in contact with them and enter into dialogue. It is not easy at all… but I think we are speaking the language that both sides understand,” he added.

Gershkovich was heard again this morning in Moscow, where he is being held on espionage charges. During that hearing his arrest was confirmed.

Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday

During the first press conference since the Ukrainian invasion, Vladimir Putin indicated he was open to a prisoner swap deal with the US.

Russia arrested the reporter in March during a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, 2,000 kilometers east of Moscow. Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the White House have all denied that he is a spy or works for the US government.

'It's not easy, I'm not going to go into details now, but in general it seems to me that we speak a language that is understandable to each other. I hope we will find a solution.'

“But I repeat: the American side must hear us and make an appropriate decision, a decision that suits the Russian side,” Putin said.

Navy veteran Paul Whelan was arrested in 2018, convicted in 2020 of spying for the US and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan and the US government both deny the allegations.

The US government believes both men were wrongly detained. The State Department said on December 5 that Russia had rejected a substantial new proposal for their release in recent weeks.

Russia's Federal Security Services allege that Gershkovich “acted on orders from the US side and collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.”

He has been behind bars ever since. Russian authorities have not provided any evidence to support the espionage allegations.

Former Marine Paul Whelan, pictured here, is also still languishing in a Russian prison

Moscow's Lefortovo District Court ruled on November 28 that his detention was extended until the end of January, and Gershkovich's appeal against that ruling was rejected by the Moscow court at a hearing on Thursday.

Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be accused of espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. He is being held in Moscow's Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions.

Analysts have suggested that Moscow could use captured Americans as a bargaining chip after tensions between the US and Russia soared when Russia sent troops to Ukraine.

At least two US citizens arrested in Russia in recent years – including WNBA star Brittney Griner – have been exchanged for Russians imprisoned in the US

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will only consider a trade for Gershkovich after a ruling in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last more than a year.

The US State Department said earlier this month that the Biden administration has made a new and significant offer aimed at securing the release of Gershkovich and another US prisoner, Paul Whelan.

Russia rejected the offer, spokesman Matthew Miller said, without disclosing the details of the offer or why Russia had rejected it.

Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, attended the court hearing on Gershkovich's appeal on Thursday and told reporters that “Evan's ordeal has now gone on for more than 250 days.” His life has been on hold for more than eight months because of a crime he did not commit.'

“While Evan appeared in court today as sharp and focused as ever, it is unacceptable that the Russian authorities have chosen to use him as a political pawn,” Tracy said after the hearing.