Russia outraged after U.S. refuses to provide visas to Russian propagandists to accompany Foreign Minister Lavrov to New York
The Russian Foreign Ministry was outraged by the fact that the American side refused to issue visas to Russian journalists to accompany Minister Sergei Lavrov to a meeting of the UN Security Council, which is to be held in New York. In this regard, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Washington of lying and threatened retaliatory measures "so that the United States will remember it for a long time."
"It's a game of nerves. It's a mockery. This is yet another proof of the fact that our colleagues in Washington are not only not to be trusted, but they simply should not be listened to. It's all a lie. This is an outright lie, and it does not look good on the country hosting the UN headquarters in its territory," Ryabkov said.
He added that the Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly appealed to the American to provide issuing entry permits to employees of the Russian press, but the result is "deplorable", despite the fact that assurances were given that the visas were ready. Ryabkov stressed that Russia will respond in kind.
"I emphasize that we will find ways to respond to this, so that Americans will remember for a long time that this is not done. And they will remember," Ryabkov threatened.
The Russian newspaper Izvestia published another reaction from Russian diplomats to the U.S. refusal to grant journalists visas to travel to New York. With reference to a diplomatic source, it is reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry intends to apply restrictive measures against American journalists in Russia.
"Given these new circumstances, American journalists will also experience all the discomfort and inconvenience from a similar attitude," Izvestia cites it source.
The spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, did not spare her words.
"With regards to the true attitude of the United States towards journalists, 40 minutes are left before their flight to New York. They're all at the airport. Visas have not been issued. The response of the American embassy: "we are working on it." There is an obvious manipulation of the freedom of speech and the rights of journalists," Zakharova wrote on Telegram.
Russian oppositionist Alexander Nevzorov commented on the reaction of the Russian representatives. He clarified that all real, self-respecting journalists either left Russia or received huge prison sentences for openly expressing the truth.
"Zakharova is twisting and turning in front of her client in vain. What kind of journalists? Where did she get them from? There are no "journalists" in Russia. They have left or are doing tough sentences in prisons. There is none left. Audacity and defiance against the authorities is not a "whim" and not a personal whim, but the main rule of the profession. Fearlessness is not a whim, but a strictly mandatory norm of this craft, as well as contempt for dictatorship. So those who are left, are ordinary media lackeys. " Nevzorov said.