Court upholds Evan Gershkovich's detention; Putin says he wants to 'reach an agreement'

Dec. 14 (UPI) -- A Russian court Thursday upheld the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he hoped to "reach an agreement" on his return.

The Wall Street Journal said that Gershkovich appeared in a Moscow City Court "where an appeal of the recent extension of his pre-trial detention was denied once again."

"While we expected this outcome it's important that we appeal these rulings to call out the absurd nature of the charge," the outlet said in a statement. "Evan has been wrongfully detained for more than 250 days for simply doing his job as a journalist, and any portrayal to the contrary is fiction. We will stand with Evan and his family for as long as it takes and continue to demand his immediate release."

Gershkovich's detention was extended through Jan. 30 last month as investigators with the Kremlin's Federal Security Service asked for additional time to probe the charges against him.

"Evan's ordeal has now stretched on for over 250 days," Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia said outside the courtroom Thursday. "The U.S. government will continue to advocate for Evan's immediate release and the release of all wrongfully detained American citizens overseas."

During a national address on Thursday, where he also pledged to carry on with the war in Ukraine, Putin denied that Russia had rejected an offer to secure the release of Gershkovich and U.S. citizen Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

"It is not that we have refused to return them," he said. "We want to reach an agreement and these agreements must be mutually acceptable and must suit both sides. We have contacts with our American partners in this regard and there is an ongoing dialogue."

Putin added that he hopes to the two sides are able to reach an agreement, but said Russia's needs must be met.

"It is not easy. I will not go into details, but in general it seems to me that we are speaking a language that we both understand. I hope that we will find a solution," he said.

Last year, the United States and Russia reached a deal to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was held in a Russian prison for 10 months on drug-related charges in a one-for-one prisoner exchange with Russia that saw the United States release Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.