Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich made a bold request for an interview with Vladimir Putin ahead of his release from a Russian jail.
The journalist was freed as part of a historic prisoner swap involving 24 inmates from between Russia and the West.
Gershkovich, 32, had been incarcerated for almost 500 days until his release on Thursday, along with two other US nationals and other prisoners.
He was being held in Russia on espionage charges which the US government deemed illegitimate.
Now it has emerged that before his shock release, Gershkovich left a note for the Russian premier asking if he would sit down for an interview, the WSJ reports.
The request was made as part of mandated forms Gershkovich filled out as part of his application for presidential clemency.
‘The last line submitted a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?’ The WSJ said.
Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.
He was released along with former US marine Paul Whelan, 54, who had also been convicted of spying and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.
The US nationals were among a group of 16 Western prisoners whose release was negotiated as part of the trade.
They included green card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian-British dissident journalist also jailed in Russia and at least seven Russian opposition figures who had been incarcerated in their homeland.
Kara-Murza, 42, was arrested in April 2022, just hours after a CNN interview was broadcast in which he stated Russia was run by a ‘regime of murderers’.
Their release formed part of a complex and historic prisoner exchange involving seven different countries.
The exchange finally took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Thursday morning.
It is understood that White House officials, diplomats and the CIA were all part of the negotiation process – and painstakingly assessed which other Western and Middle Eastern countries were willing to release Russian prisoners as part of the deal.
According to the WSJ, last week CIA Director William Burns traveled to Turkey to finalize the logistics for the exchange with his Kremlin equivalent.
President Biden also played a role in the historic exchange – speaking directly with prime minister of Slovenia Robert Golob to get him on board with pardoning two Russian spies, who were to be handed back to Russia in the swap.
The president lauded the deal as a ‘feat of diplomacy’ as he confirmed 16 prisoners had been released from Russia, including seven opposition figures incarcerated in their homeland.
‘Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,’ Biden said.
‘This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer.
‘And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family.
‘Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families.’
The deal largely hinged on the release of convicted assassin Vadim Krasikov from a German prison, where he had been serving life for the broad-daylight murder of a Georgia-born Chechen separatist.
Putin is understood to have personally requested Krasikov’s release in exchange for Gershkovich and the other hostages as a reward for the ‘state-contracted killing’.