ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Joe Biden has spoken to the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the Moscow-based journalist detained in Russia and charged with espionage. Biden spoke to Gershkovich’s parents on Tuesday as he flew to Belfast to start a four-day trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland. The call came one day after the Biden administration formally determined that the reporter has been “wrongfully detained.” The designation elevates Gershkovich’s case for the U.S. government and means that a particular State Department office will take the lead on seeking his release. Earlier Tuesday, Biden called what's happening to the journalist "totally illegal."
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Patrick Semansky/AP
President Joe Biden steps off Air Force One at Belfast International Airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, April 11, 2023. Biden is visiting the United Kingdom and Ireland in part to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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