Trudeau and Biden call on Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden have called for the immediate release of a Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on spying charges.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said journalist Evan Gershkovich, a US citizen, was arrested last week because he was “accused of spying for the interests of the American government.”

The Wall Street Journal denounced Gershkovich as spying. The White House called the espionage charge, which carries up to 20 years in prison, “ridiculous.”

“The prime minister and president spoke about Russia’s illegal detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and called for his immediate release,” Trudeau’s office said in a statement after the phone call between the leaders.

Biden has called for the journalists to be released.

In the phone call, Trudeau and Biden also talked about migration and the implementation of the Safe Third Nations Agreement, Trudeau’s office said.

Canada and the United States last month replaced a two-decade-old refugee agreement as part of an effort to slow the record influx of asylum seekers entering Canada through informal border crossings.

Leaders are also looking forward to the first meeting of the Energy Transformation Task Force, which focuses on clean energy and supply chains, the prime minister’s office said.



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