United States Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy (Credit:  statenewswire.com)

By Gary  Raynaldo    –  DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

WASHINGTON    DC  –   US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Moscow Monday calling for his immediate release. Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested Gershkovich in March and accused him of espionage. Gershkovich, the WSJ, and the U.S. deny he was involved in spying.  Ambassador Tracy said she was able to meet with Gershkovich at Lefortovo Prison.  She said it was the first time the U.S. was granted consular access since his “wrongful detention” more than two weeks ago. 

“I can report that he is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances. We will continue to provide all appropriate support to Evan and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access. The charges against Evan are baseless, and we call on the Russian Federation to immediately release him.”

-U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy

April 18, 2023. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy speaking to journalists outside Moscow City Court on detained U.S. Citizen Evan Gershkovich. (Credit: ru.usembassy.gov)

Gershkovich was arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, 1,800 kilometers east of Moscow, while on a reporting assignment.  Moscow   claims  that the journalist was caught “red-handed” while spying,  allegedly collecting state secrets about a military industrial complex.  Last week, the U.S. deemed Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained” by Russia.  Secretary of State Antony  Blinken made the  determination.  “Journalism is not a crime.  We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia, and its ongoing war against the truth,”  State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement April 10. 

Ambassador Tracy is First Woman to Occupy Post of U.S. Ambassador to  Russian Federation

US Ambassador to the Russian Federation Lynne Tracy meets with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jan. 30, 2023. (Credit: ru.usembassy.gov)

President Joe Biden announced Ambassador Tracy’s nomination on Sept.  20, 2022 .  Tracy was approved as US ambassador to Russia by the US Senate on Dec. 21, 2022.  She was sworn in as Ambassador to the Russian Federation on Jan.  9, 2023.  She is the first woman to serve as US ambassador to Russia.  According to her State Department bio,  she is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Most recently, she served as Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. Prior to that, she served as Senior Advisor for Russia Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, 2017-2018 and was Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, 2014-2017. She earned a B.A. in Soviet Studies from the University of Georgia and a J.D. from the University of Akron. Ms. Tracy was born and grew up in Barberton, Ohio.