In an interview launched on Thursday, Tucker Carlson urged President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to launch an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal who has been held in a infamous Moscow jail for almost a 12 months.

Mr. Carlson’s enchantment on behalf of the reporter, Evan Gershkovich, was solely the second time that Mr. Putin immediately addressed a case that has galvanized press freedom teams and strained diplomatic relations with the United States.

Large parts of the two-hour interview had been taken up by Mr. Putin’s recounting a whole lot of years of Russian historical past. But within the ultimate minutes, Mr. Carlson requested, “as a sign of your decency,” if he “would be willing to release him to us and we’ll bring him back to the United States.” Mr. Carlson added: “This guy’s obviously not a spy. He’s a kid, and maybe he was breaking your law in some way, but he’s not a superspy, and everybody knows that.”

Mr. Putin was noncommittal in his response. “We have done so many gestures of good will out of decency that I think we have run out of them,” he stated, in line with a translation of his remarks by Mr. Carlson’s group.

Pressed concerning the case by Mr. Carlson, Mr. Putin later added: “I also want him to return to his homeland at last. I’m absolutely sincere. But let me say once again, the dialogue continues.”

The Russian chief urged that he wished extra concessions from American officers earlier than he would think about releasing Mr. Gershkovich. Mr. Putin urged that he is likely to be prepared to commerce the reporter for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian citizen sentenced to life in jail in Germany for the 2019 homicide of a Chechen former separatist fighter in Berlin.

Mr. Gershkovich, 32, was the primary American journalist to be arrested on a spying cost in Russia for the reason that finish of the Cold War, and the U.S. authorities has designated him as “wrongfully detained,” which means he’s basically thought of a political prisoner.

He was arrested in March within the Russian metropolis of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage, an allegation that The Journal and American authorities have strenuously denied. Since then, he has been held on the infamous Lefortovo Prison in Moscow pending a trial.

The Journal is owned by the household of Rupert Murdoch, who additionally controls Mr. Carlson’s former employer, Fox News. “We’re encouraged to see Russia’s desire for a deal that brings Evan home, and we hope this will lead to his rapid release and return to his family and our newsroom,” the newspaper stated in an announcement on Thursday after the printed of the Putin interview.

Last month, Mr. Gershkovich, who as soon as labored for The New York Times as a news assistant, was ordered to remain in jail till at the least March 30, the fourth time that his detention has been prolonged. The Russian authorities have indicated that they is likely to be open to a prisoner swap for him, however solely after a verdict in his case.

In December, Valerie Hopkins, a correspondent for The Times, asked Mr. Putin at a news convention about Mr. Gershkovich’s case. The Russian chief answered solely vaguely. “We want to make a deal, but it should be mutually acceptable to both sides,” he stated, including, “I hope we’ll find a solution.”

In Thursday’s interview, Mr. Putin provided a equally hazy reply to Mr. Carlson. “I do not rule out that the person you refer to, Mr. Gershkovich, may return to his motherland,” Mr. Putin stated. “But we have to come to an agreement.

“I hope you let him out,” Mr. Carlson replied.