Statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting of the UN Security Council have become an alarming signal for the United States, writes analyst Paul Withers in an article for the Daily Express. It is reported by RT.
Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council, Lavrov said that Russia would keep in mind the dishonorable behavior of the United States in the situation with the non-issuance of visas to Russian journalists. The diplomat warned that Moscow would take this visa situation into account if Washington «needs something from us» in the future. Before Lavrov's visit, the United States prevented several Russian journalists from attending the meetings.
The analyst believes that such a reaction came as a surprise to the American side. He also pointed out that Lavrov raised the topic of «cowardice» on the part of Washington.
Russian media personnel who were supposed to accompany Sergey Lavrov in New York to events at the UN Security Council during the Russian presidency, did not receive US visas. White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby called the Russian media propaganda organs and said that Washington is fighting for the independence of journalism in this way.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called this situation a shameless disregard for the norms of interstate interaction and demanded an appropriate response from the UN. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the situation with the refusal to issue visas to Russian journalists to accompany the Russian Foreign Minister to the UN Security Council in the United States should be a topic for serious discussion in the world organization.