Russia vows it ‘will not forgive’ US for blocking journalists’ visit

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has threatened the US after the American government allegedly denied visas to some Russian journalists.

Mr Lavrov said Russia “won’t forget” and “will not forgive” the US for halting visa proceedings for journalists who intended to travel with Mr Lavrov on a diplomatic to New York this week. The Russian foreign minister is set to host a United Nations meeting in the Big Apple to mark his chairmanship of the Security Council.

“A country that calls itself the strongest, smartest, free and fair country has chickened out and done something stupid by showing what its sworn assurances about protecting freedom of speech and access to information are really worth,” Mr Lavrov said on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

He added: “Be sure that we will not forget and will not forgive.”

Mr Lavrov took the presidency of the council earlier in April, despite the continuing conflict in Ukraine and growing criticism from Western diplomats.

The US State Department has not issued any statements regarding the allegedly denied visas. The Independent has reached out for comments.

Mr Lavrov’s threats of retaliation were echoed by deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov.

“I emphasize that we will find ways to respond to this, so that the Americans will remember for a long time not to do this,” Mr Ryabkov said, per the AP.

The warnings come in the wake of high tensions between Moscow and Washington over the arrest last month of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, whom Russia accuses of espionage. The American government has said he is “wrongfully detained.”

Many Western journalists stationed in Moscow left the country after Russia sent troops into Ukraine. Russia currently requires foreign journalists to renew their visas and accreditation every three months, compared to once a year before the war broke out.

Meanwhile, Mr Lavrov was tasked with leading a Monday meeting on the “maintenance of international peace and security” in New York, according to CNN.

Ambassadors present at the meeting decried Russia’s attack on Kyiv.

“Our hypocritical convener today, Russia, invaded its neighbour, Ukraine, and struck at the heart of the UN Charter,” US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during her speech. “This illegal, unprovoked and unnecessary war runs directly counter to our most shared principles – that a war of aggression and territorial conquest is never, ever acceptable.”