Russia said Thursday it is denying an upcoming consular visit to detained U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich in retaliation for an American refusal to issue visas to several Russian journalists.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov complained last weekend that the United States had denied visas to Russian journalists set to travel with him to United Nations headquarters in New York.
In response, the Russian foreign ministry said Thursday, "The U.S. Embassy was informed that its request for a consular visit on May 11... to U.S. citizen Gershkovich, who was detained on charges of espionage, has been rejected."
Moscow warned that "other potential retaliatory measures are being worked out."
The ministry said it summoned a senior U.S. diplomat to deliver a formal note of protest of the decision to deny the visas.
"It was particularly emphasized [to the U.S. diplomat] that such sabotage, intended to prevent normal journalistic work, would not go unanswered," the foreign ministry said.
Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was arrested last month while on a reporting assignment. Russia contends he was caught "red-handed" spying on a Russian military installation.
Gershkovich, the Journal and the U.S. government deny the charges.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy visited Gershkovich in a Moscow jail and watched as he made a court appearance. But Russia is holding him while he awaits trial, rejecting U.S. protests that he is being illegally detained.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told VOA the United States issued nearly 100 visas for Russian nationals, including some journalists, in connection with Lavrov’s recent trip to the U.N.
"The United States takes seriously its obligations as host country of the UN under the UN Headquarters Agreement," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We reject recent claims by Russian officials that suggest otherwise."
"When we speak about the ability of journalists to do their work, it is worth pointing out that Russia’s ongoing repression of independent media and freedom of the press has led to an exodus — not only of foreign journalists — but also Russian journalists and entire media outlets," the spokesperson said.
Liam Scott contributed to this report.
