Russia calls Western hype over arrest of WSJ reporter an example of ‘blatant hypocrisy’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said Wednesday that the hype generated by the US and Western media over the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is an example of “blatant hypocrisy.”

“Demanding the ‘immediate release’ of the American correspondent, the Biden administration and all the Washington agitation and propaganda media declared him ‘illegally detained,’ referring to the Soviet-American Consular Convention of 1964, which they themselves do not regard as anything,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement released by the ministry.

Zakharova underlined that the US embassy in Moscow was informed about the arrest of Gershkovich in a timely manner, which she said in the case of Russian citizens in the US is never done or is done so with delay, especially in “high-profile cases under the jurisdiction of the US Department of Justice and the FBI.”

She said that access for Russian diplomats to see detained citizens is not granted automatically in any case and is often granted after “lengthy approvals.”

Concerning the visit of US representatives to Gershkovich, Zakharova said the issue is being considered and will be resolved “in accordance with consular practice and Russian legislation,” adding the attribution of the status of “illegally detained” to Gershkovich by US authorities “does not matter.”

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday denounced Russia's arrest of Gershkovich as "totally illegal," a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained.

“The calls of State Secretary A. Blinken and other officials to their fellow citizens ‘to leave Russia immediately’ are hypocritical and ambiguous. It was Washington that launched a real hunt for Russians living in the US and third countries or temporarily staying there, against whom the American special services and law enforcement officers have claims,” Zakharova said.

She said Russian citizens in this regard have not had “a chance for a fair trial and protection from the punitive quasi-justice of the United States, ending up in prisons with maximum terms of imprisonment.”

She noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry has “every reason” to recommend Russian citizens to exercise “extra caution” when planning trips abroad, especially to “unfriendly countries.”

“I emphasize that any attempts to put pressure on the Russian authorities and the courts insisting on ‘special treatment’ for US citizens who have violated Russian law are senseless and futile. It is time for Washington to learn that we will not tolerate interference in our internal affairs and will act solely in accordance with our national interests.”