Zakharova: Washington staged a “genocide” against Russian journalists in the United States

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the US authorities staged a “real genocide” against journalists from Russia.

“The real genocide of Russian journalists and journalists in general is organized precisely in the United States of America,” Zakharova said at a meeting of the information committee at the UN headquarters in New York (quote according to TASS).

According to her, “large strokes” testify to the continuous pressure on Russian journalists in the United States, the case with the closure of the accounts of the correspondent of the TASS agency. Zakharova said that the agency “just recently” received a notification from Wells Fargo.

“Therefore, when you hear moaning about how badly American journalists are being treated in the Russian Federation, don’t believe it,” the agency’s official said.

April 24 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived to New York to participate as chairman of the meetings of the UN Security Council, which are held on April 25 and 26. 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.

On April 19, the Foreign Ministry announced that the United States is obliged to issue visas to Russian journalists to cover the minister’s participation in the UN Security Council, stressing that they are also part of the Russian delegation. According to Zakharova, the Russian journalists who arrived at the airport did not receive American visas.

In this regard, Lavrov named US behavior is ugly and accused Washington of cowardice. The Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN called on the organization to respond to US actions.

American authorities explained refusal to issue visas to Russian journalists in support of the freedom and independence of the press. According to White House strategic communications coordinator John Kirby, “Russian state media are propaganda outlets.”