The Kremlin quickly shot down Donald Trump's boast that he could free a Wall Street journalist Evan Gershkovich imprisoned in Russia if he won the presidential election.
The former president, who often praises Vladimir Putin and has voiced doubts about U.S. support for Ukraine, said that the Russian leader "will do that for me, but not for anyone else."
Trump claimed in a post on Truth Social that Gershkovic "will be released almost immediately after the election, but definitely before I assume office." He added: "He will be HOME, SAFE, AND WITH HIS FAMILY."
But Trump couldn't have any idea about what Russia might do regarding Gershokovic because the Kremlin has had no contact with Trump, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
In any case, no one negotiating for Gershkovic's release would discuss it because such talks would be held in "total secrecy," Peskov emphasized.
"Regarding [US-Russian] contacts on the matter of incarcerated and convicted individuals, we can say that these contacts must be carried out in total secrecy. This is the only way they can be effective," he explained.
Trump's comments were ridiculed by President Joe Biden's campaign, which cited Trump's frequent criticism of the news media as an "enemy of the people" — and his frequently expressed extremely high regard for Putin, reported the Guardian.
Trump has hailed Putin as a "genius," and called his invasion of Ukraine a "work of genius."
"Donald Trump doesn't give a damn about the innocent Americans unjustly imprisoned by Vladimir Putin," Biden campaign adviser T.J. Ducklo wrote in an email to the newspaper.
In late 2023, the Biden administration announced that it had made a "significant proposal" to Russia to secure Gershkovich's release, likely as part of a prisoner swap, but that Moscow rejected it.
Gershkovich, 32, has been detained in Moscow's infamous Lefortovo prison for over a year following his arrest while on a reporting assignment.
