Russian Foreign Ministry: We Will Not Forgive Washington for Denying Our Journalists Visas to Enter New York

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that "the American authorities have not yet granted visas to the Russian journalists traveling with Minister Sergey Lavrov to attend the United Nations Security Council meetings, just minutes before their flight." Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, wrote on Telegram today: "Regarding the real attitude of the United States towards journalists. Only 40 minutes remain before their departure to New York. They are all at the airport. And the visas have not been issued yet, while the U.S. embassy says: 'We are working on it'." She considered this to be "a blatant manipulation of the issue of freedom of expression and journalists' rights." Later, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia stated: "We will not forgive Washington for depriving our journalists of visas to enter New York." Earlier, Lavrov said: "The United States has abused its status as the host country of the United Nations headquarters concerning the issuance of visas to the Russian delegation heading to New York, as visas were not granted to some staff members, as well as to all journalists who are part of the delegation." Lavrov emphasized that "the American side has not explained why visas were not issued to representatives of Russian media." Russia holds the presidency of the UN Security Council in April, and Lavrov will chair the Security Council meetings in New York on April 24 and 25.