'We Won't Forget, We Won't Forgive': Lavrov on US Refusal to Issue Visas to Russian Journalists

16:34, 23 April 2023
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Maxim Grishenkin
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On Wednesday, Lavrov said that the United States abused its position as host country of the UN headquarters in issuing visas to the Russian delegation to the Security Council, since individual staff members, as well as all journalists in the delegation, were never issued visas.
Sputnik
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow "will not forgive" Washington for denying US visas to Russian journalists meant to accompany him on a visit to UN headquarters.

"We won't forget, we will not forgive this," said Lavrov, who will chair several UN Security Council meetings in New York. He told reporters that the United States "had chickened out."

Lavrov added that the United States' decision came in stark contrast with its pledges to protect freedom of speech.
"[The US] did something foolish and demonstrated the value of its oaths about protecting freedom of speech, access to information, and so on," Lavrov told reporters.
The top diplomat admitted that he did not expect such a decision from the "American colleagues."

"Of course, I was aware of how famed our American colleagues are for this kind of thing, but I was sure that, this time, given the attention that has been drawn to their ugly behavior, things would be different. But I was wrong," the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

Among the journalists who were denied visas is Denis Bolotsky, a Sputnik correspondent, who reported that Russian journalists cannot obtain their passports from the US Embassy in Moscow.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has also condemned the United States’ failure to issue visas to Russian journalists and pledged response measures.

"The Americans pulled yet another outrageous and totally unacceptable trick in preparation for the participation of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in the events of the outgoing Russian presidency of the UN Security Council. A group of Russian journalists who were to accompany Lavrov on this trip were not issued visas [with the decision being withheld] until the very last moment. The Americans pretended that they were working and that a solution was about to be found," Ryabkov told the reporters who arrived at an airport to leave for New York.

He added that this situation was "a game of nerves, a mockery, and yet another reflection of the fact that our colleagues in Washington are not only not to be trusted, they are simply not worth listening to."

"We have repeatedly contacted them on this issue over the last few days. Nevertheless, the result, as you can see, is deplorable, even though we were given assurances that visas are on the way, are about to be issued. All of this is a lie. This is an outright lie, and it does not paint a good picture of the country that hosts the UN headquarters. The journalists were supposed to cover the most important event of the Russian presidency of the UN Security Council," Ryabkov said.

He stressed that all the events that Lavrov is scheduled to attend in New York are "high-profile newsworthy events."
"And our press pool was bound to be with us. That didn't happen. The responsibility lies squarely on the American side," Ryabkov said, stressing that Moscow will find ways to respond to this move "so that Americans remember for a long time that this is not the way things are done."
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the US side did not provide any explanation for the failure to issue visas to Russian media representatives.

US Journalists in Russia to Feel Fallout

US journalists working in Russia are set to face the repercussions of their country's decision not to issue visas to the Russian journalists who were supposed to travel to New York to cover the end of Moscow's presidency in the UN Security Council, a diplomatic source told journalists on Sunday.
"After the attitude that Washington has demonstrated toward Russian journalists and journalism in general, I think it would not be surprising for them to see a similar attitude toward their own journalists. And now it is obvious that the concern they have for journalist [Evan] Gershkovich, who was caught red-handed, is a sham concern. He is of no interest to them either as a journalist – otherwise they would not be disparaging Russian citizens – or as a US citizen. And it's all just words, hypocrisy, and lies," the source said, adding that there is no doubt that American journalists in Russia "will experience all the discomfort and inconvenience, and similar treatment."
RussiaUnited States (US)United Nations (UN)securitypressfreedom of speechvisaInternational