Moscow Won't Delay Response to Non-Issuance of US Visa to Journalists: Diplomat
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russia will not delay its response to non-issuance of US visas to Russian journalists, who were to cover Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to New York, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview.
"We are not backpedalling. We will certainly find a response to this offensive behavior. So far, the question of whether it will be symmetrical or not remains open. But we are certainly not going to delay this response," Ryabkov said, TASS reported.
"I cannot and will not predict the final outcome, but the offending and provocative non-issuance of visas, demonstrating that our journalists are not welcomed in the US even when the Russian foreign minister is visiting it, certainly should not be left unanswered," he said.
"I would like to note that such actions, such retaliatory measures are taken after mandatory inter-agency approval of some kind, and after a report is made to top (governmental) officials. We are right in the middle of this process," the deputy foreign minister added.
Lavrov’s delegation had difficulty getting US visas to travel to UN Security Council events on April 24 and 25. Members of the Russian news media didn’t get any visas. The US didn’t give any reason for the decision. The Russian foreign minister said the US was scared and assured reporters that Russia wouldn’t be "forgetful or forgiving" about the incident.
