The Kremlin says it has made an offer to France regarding Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher jailed in Russia and now reported to face fresh espionage charges. Dmitry Peskov said Moscow presented a proposal but gave no details, leaving the next move to France. Vinatier was arrested in June 2024, sentenced to three years in October 2024 for collecting military information, and could face a much longer term if espionage charges are upheld. France has criticized the sentence as "extremely severe" and called for repeal of Russia's foreign agent laws.
Kremlin Says It Has Made Offer To France Over Jailed Researcher Laurent Vinatier — Espionage Charge Reported
FILE - French citizen Laurent Vinatier sits in a cage prior to a court session at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File)
The Kremlin said on Thursday it has presented an offer to French authorities concerning Laurent Vinatier, a French political researcher serving a three-year prison sentence in Russia and who was reported in 2025 to be facing new espionage charges.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Moscow had made “an offer to the French” regarding Vinatier and added that “the ball is now in France's court.” Peskov declined to provide details, citing the sensitivity of the matter.
The French Foreign Ministry said it had no immediate comment.
Case Background
Vinatier was arrested in Moscow in June 2024. Russian authorities accused him of collecting military information without registering as a “foreign agent,” a charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. In October 2024 a judge sentenced him to three years behind bars. France’s Foreign Ministry called the sentence “extremely severe” and demanded his immediate release.
In August 2025 the state news agency Tass reported — citing court records but providing no further detail — that Vinatier had also been charged with espionage. If convicted of espionage, he could face a sentence of 10 to 20 years.
Diplomatic Context
Peskov’s remarks followed a question from journalist Jérôme Garro of French broadcaster TF1 at President Vladimir Putin’s Dec. 19 annual news conference. Garro asked whether Vinatier might be eligible for a presidential pardon or released as part of a prisoner exchange. Putin said he knew “nothing” about the case but said he would look into it.
The arrest and prosecution took place amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Paris after French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the potential deployment of French troops to Ukraine. Russia has in recent years detained several foreign nationals and in some cases later exchanged detainees in swaps with Western countries. The largest such exchange since the Cold War came in August 2024, when Moscow freed a group of journalists, U.S. citizen Paul Whelan and several dissidents in a multinational deal.
Legal And Human Rights Concerns
Human rights groups and the French government have criticized Russia’s foreign agent laws and other measures, saying they enable political repression and curtail freedoms of association, opinion and expression. The French Foreign Ministry renewed calls for the law’s repeal, arguing it contributes to a “systematic violation of fundamental freedoms.”
Vinatier is an adviser to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based NGO that said in June 2024 it was doing “everything possible to assist” him. Ahead of his sentencing, Vinatier appealed for clemency, citing obligations to his two children and elderly parents.
Why it matters: The Kremlin’s statement that it has made an offer to France — without disclosing details — leaves open the possibility of diplomatic negotiation or a prisoner exchange. The addition of espionage charges would greatly increase the legal risks for Vinatier and complicate any diplomatic resolution.
