By Rene Wagner and Thomas EscrittBERLIN (Reuters) - Germany declined to be drawn on Friday on whether talks were underway on swapping a Russian state hitman serving a life sentence in a German prison for detained U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, an idea floated by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "I can't say anything on that," deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said when asked if Russia was seeking such an exchange. "I don't want to address this concrete case, please," she added when asked if Germany was in touch with the United States on the matter. People in the entourage of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is visiting Washington for talks with President Joe Biden, also declined to comment. (Additional reporting by Andreas Rinke in Washington, writing by Thomas Escritt, editing by Rachel More and Angus MacSwan)

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Persons: Rene Wagner, Thomas Escritt BERLIN, Evan Gershkovich, Vladimir Putin, Gershkovich, Christiane Hoffmann, Olaf Scholz, Joe Biden, Putin, Vadim Krasikov, Kai Cornelius, Andreas Rinke, Thomas Escritt, Rachel More, Angus MacSwan Organizations: U.S, Wall, Hamburg University Locations: Germany, Russian, Russia, United States, Washington, Berlin, Chechen, Georgia, Moscow