The U.S. government is pushing hard for the release of a Wall Street Journal reporter held in Russia, and tracking his detention closely, the White House said Monday.
"We have been pushing hard since the moment we found out the reporter was detained," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Russia's FSB security service said on Thursday it had arrested Evan Gershkovich, accusing him of gathering information about a Russian defence company that was a state secret.
The U.S. is "keenly, strongly, closely" tracking his detention, Kirby said.
"We will do everything we can to get Evan home and Paul Whelan," Kirby said, referring to the former U.S. Marine serving a 16-year jail sentence in Russia on charges of espionage, which he and the United States deny. "We have no illusions that it's going to take a lot of hard work, that doesn't mean we're going to shy away from it."
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Moira Warburton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
