Foreign Ministry did not allow diplomats to visit Gershkovich due to non-issuance of visas to journalists

In connection with the refusal of the United States to issue visas to Russian journalists, the Russian Foreign Ministry rejected the request of the American side to visit the correspondent of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Evan Gershkovich, who is accused of espionage. About it reported on the website of the Russian department.

On April 27, a senior US embassy diplomat was handed a note of protest over the refusal to issue visas to Russian journalists to cover UN Security Council meetings in New York. The name of the diplomat summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry has not been specified. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the actions of the American diplomatic mission provocative and accused of disrupting the visa processing of journalists.

“It is especially emphasized that such sabotage, aimed at preventing normal journalistic work, will not remain unanswered,” the message says.

In this regard, the request for a consular visit to Gershkovich on May 11 was rejected, the Foreign Ministry added. The Russian ministry said it was working on other responses, about which the United States would be “appropriately notified.”

At the end of April, Lavrov arrived in New York to participate as chairman in the meetings of the UN Security Council. The minister’s trip was complicated by the US delay in issuing visas to the Russian delegation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reported that the documents had been received only on April 17. At the same time, visas were never issued to journalists from the Lavrov pool.

Later at the White House explained refusal to support the freedom and independence of the press. At the US State Department reportedthat Washington issued about 100 visas to the Russian delegation, including a number of journalists.

Formerly a diplomatic source for RIA Novosti informedthat due to the actions of the US authorities, American journalists “will experience all the discomfort and inconvenience” when working in Russia. The interlocutor of the agency then also pointed to Washington’s “imaginary concern” for the fate of Gershkovich, noting that he was “not interesting to them [властям США] not as a journalist, not as a citizen.”