Moscow sharply criticized the United States for its decision not to issue visas to Russian journalists for their planned trip to attend a meeting of the UN Security Council.
“We will not forget and we will not forgive,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday before leaving for New York. Talk about a “cowardly” decision by Washington.
In the midst of its military offensive in Ukraine, Russia assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in April, which was harshly criticized by Kiev. Lavrov will chair several sessions of the UN’s highest body at UN headquarters in New York.
Russia announces the reaction
According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, the United States “did not issue visas” to journalists who wanted to accompany Lavrov on his trip to the United States, despite “multiple contacts in the past few days.”
Ryabkov said this was a “blatant and totally unacceptable method”. He added, according to Russian news agencies, that Russia will look for ways “to fight back so that the Americans remember for a long time that this is not possible.”
A diplomatic source quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency declared that American journalists would face “harassment and inconvenience” in Russia.
The announcement came three weeks after the arrest of American journalist Ivan Gershkovitch in Russia. The 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter has been accused by Russian authorities of espionage, which he categorically denies. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
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