The Kremlin said Thursday that it was in contact with French authorities about the fate of a French political academic who is serving a three-year sentence in Russia and reportedly facing new espionage charges.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia has made “an offer to the French” regarding Laurent Vinatier, arrested in Moscow last year and convicted of collecting military information, and that “the ball is now in France's court.” He declined to provide details, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

French President Emmanuel Macron is closely monitoring Vinatier's situation, his office said in a statement. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Pascal Confavreux said Thursday that all government services are fully mobilized to provide consular support to Vinatier and push for his release as soon as possible.

Peskov's remarks come after journalist Jérôme Garro of the French television channel TF1 asked President Vladimir Putin during his annual press conference on December 19 whether Vinatier's family could expect a presidential pardon or his release in a prisoner exchange. Putin responded that he knew “nothing” about the case, but promised to investigate it.

Vinatier was arrested in Moscow in June 2024. Russian authorities accused him of failing to register as a “foreign agent” while collecting information on “military and military-technical activities” that could be used to the detriment of national security. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

The arrest came amid tensions between Moscow and Paris following comments by French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of deploying French troops in Ukraine.

Vinatier's lawyers asked the court to sentence him to a fine, but the judge in October 2024 imposed a three-year sentence, a sentence described as “extremely severe” by the French Foreign Ministry, which called for the academic's immediate release.

Arrests on charges of espionage and collection of sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia and its highly politicized legal system since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

In addition to criticizing his ruling, the French Foreign Ministry urged the abolition of Russia's laws on foreign agents, which subject those who carry that label to additional government scrutiny and numerous restrictions. Violations may result in criminal prosecution. The ministry said the legislation “contributes to a systematic violation of fundamental freedoms in Russia, such as freedom of association, freedom of opinion and freedom of expression.”

Vinatier is an adviser to the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, a non-governmental organization based in Switzerland, which said in June 2024 that it was doing “everything possible to assist.”

In asking the judge for leniency before the verdict, Vinatier mentioned his two children and elderly parents whom he has to care for.

The charges against Vinatier relate to a law that requires anyone who gathers information on military matters to register with authorities as a foreign agent.

Human rights activists have criticized the law and other recent legislation as part of a Kremlin crackdown on independent media and political activists, aimed at stifling criticism of the war in Ukraine.

In August 2025, the Russian state news agency Tass reported that Vinatier was also accused of espionage, citing court records, but without giving details. Those convicted of espionage in Russia face between 10 and 20 years in prison.

In recent years, Russia has arrested a number of foreigners, primarily American citizens, on various criminal charges and then released them in prisoner exchanges. The largest exchange since the Cold War took place in August 2024, when Moscow freed journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsou Kurmasheva, American Paul Whelan and Russian dissidents in a multinational deal that freed two dozen people.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.