MOSCOW—The Kremlin on Tuesday held the door open for contacts with the United States regarding a possible prisoner exchange that could potentially involve jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, but reaffirmed that such talks must be held out of the public eye.
Asked whether Monday’s consular visits to Mr. Gershkovich, who has been held behind bars in Moscow since March on charges of espionage, and Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian citizen in U.S. custody on cybercrime charges, could potentially herald a prisoner swap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow and Washington have touched on the issue.
“We have said that there have been certain contacts on the subject, but we don’t want them to be discussed in public,” Mr. Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “They must be carried out and continue in complete silence.”…