During the conversation, Lavrov told Blinken about the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities in this case and avoid giving this case a political color.
"Lavrov emphasized that Gershkovich was caught red-handed while trying to obtain secret information, carrying out under the guise of journalistic status the collection of data constituting a state secret," the Foreign Ministry said.
Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg on March 30 on suspicion of espionage. According to the FSB of Russia, on the instructions of the United States, he collected information on the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.
American President Joe Biden appealed to the Russian authorities to release the journalist.
The Kremlin stressed that the journalist was caught red-handed, it is not about suspicions.